President (To Win Colorado) See Full Big Line

(D) Joe Biden*

(R) Donald Trump

80%

20%↓

CO-01 (Denver) See Full Big Line

(D) Diana DeGette*

90%

CO-02 (Boulder-ish) See Full Big Line

(D) Joe Neguse*

90%

CO-03 (West & Southern CO) See Full Big Line

(D) Adam Frisch

(R) Jeff Hurd

(R) Ron Hanks

40%

30%

20%

CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado) See Full Big Line

(R) Lauren Boebert

(R) J. Sonnenberg

(R) Ted Harvey

20%↑

15%↑

10%

CO-05 (Colorado Springs) See Full Big Line

(R) Dave Williams

(R) Jeff Crank

(R) Doug Bruce

20%

20%

20%

CO-06 (Aurora) See Full Big Line

(D) Jason Crow*

90%

CO-07 (Jefferson County) See Full Big Line

(D) Brittany Pettersen

85%↑

 

CO-08 (Northern Colo.) See Full Big Line

(D) Yadira Caraveo

(R) Gabe Evans

(R) Janak Joshi

60%↑

40%↑

20%↑

State Senate Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

80%

20%

State House Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

95%

5%

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
January 08, 2015 10:59 AM UTC

Abortion Ban Bill Introduced In Colorado Legislature (Again)

  • 8 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols
For God and country.
For God and country.

The Colorado Springs Gazette's Ryan Maye Handy:

A slew of proposed bills from both the House and Senate target some of Colorado's hot-button issues, including one House bill that seeks to make performing abortions a felony…

Longtime Sen. Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs, along with Sen. Kevin Grantham, R-Cañon City, and newly elected Rep. Gordon Klingenschmitt, R-Colorado Springs, put their names on House Bill 1041, the anti-abortion bill.

…The abortion bill is an echo of past attempts to get personhood laws on the books in Colorado. The most recent attempt, a law that would have classified killing unborn child[ren] as murder, was rejected by voters in the November 2014 election.

A total of ten Colorado Republican legislators in the House and Senate have signed on as cosponsors of House Bill 14-1041. Democrats have assigned the bill to the House Judiciary Committee to die, avoiding the negative optics that sometimes come with sending a bill to the usual "kill committee" of State Affairs. It's not like the bill's fate is any less certain.

What this lost-cause piece of legislation will do, of course, is provide Democrats with exactly what they need to validate their contention that Republicans are the true "social issue warriors"–the label Republican Cory Gardner pinned successfully on Mark Udall as a foil to Udall's nonstop attacks on Gardner over abortion. The media and chattering class turned against "Mark Uterus," but when Gardner votes for a 20-week abortion ban in the Republican controlled U.S. Senate this year, what will they say then?

Because when local Republicans told voters last year that Colorado womens' "right to an abortion is not in jeopardy," they were flat-out lying. This latest abortion ban bill just continues a trend:

During the 2014 state legislative session, lawmakers introduced 335 provisions aimed at restricting access to abortion. By the end of the year, 15 states had enacted 26 new abortion restrictions. Including these new provisions, states have adopted 231 new abortion restrictions since the 2010 midterm elections swept abortion opponents into power in state capitals across the country.

The risk inherent here is that voters, honest reporters, etc. will begin to understand that the "war on women" simply goes on hiatus at election time. This bizarre cycle of abortion being written off by the pundits as a nonissue in October, only to roar back to life the following January, can't go on forever.

Can it?

Comments

8 thoughts on “Abortion Ban Bill Introduced In Colorado Legislature (Again)

  1. What a dilemma for Dems. In the House committee, just quickly kill it or play around w/ it (ie, get a fiscal note re: what it will cost to unsuccessfully defend in court, maybe remove the safety clause).

  2. I'll go with Frank on this one, too – get a fiscal note on it, vote on it. Heck, send it to the floor for a real vote; can Democrats in the committee vote 'Present' and leave it to Republicans to pass it out of Judiciary? Having everyone's position on record for an anti-abortion bill would be the best outcome.

    1. Not to mention the sound bites this could generate during floor debate.  Betcha at least one of these rocket scientists will work the term "legitimate rape" into his (it's got to be a "him") sales pitch for the bill. 

      1. Blue Cat: thanks for your wishes. I am gearing up for battles at the Legislature, continuing to try and be a "green" Republican. Hope your New Year is also going well.   C.H.B.

        p.s.  it's also time to place one of my AC/DC CDs in the car. Haven't listened to the boys for a while.

  3. I don't think many were fooled.  Corey supporters felt confident he didn't, that it was just a wnk, wink to get elected. Many others just didn't have abortion at the top of their list of priorities and/or didn't think the righties were going to be able to pull off a ban that would get past a mixed legislature or stand up in court if it did anyway. I'm betting this is not exactly coming as a shock to any significant number of Colorado voters.

  4. Let's try a thought experiment. It's at least arguable that teen age pregnancy is a public health problem. There already exist IUD's that are much safer than the pill. How about "installing" these IUD's in pubescent girls, perhaps along with the HPV vaccination. Of course, there would be medical exemptions and appropriate safeguards. The young woman could have the IUD removed when she was 18 or so, or could get it removed earlier with her parent's permission.

    A public health policy like this would significantly reduce both teen age pregnancies and abortions. It would be far safer for young women than actually bringing a pregnancy to term.

    Would any Republican, let alone any abortion opponent, support this?

    Of course not. Pregnancy is punishment for screwing around. The gateway for this "immorality" is contraception. If a woman dies from being forced to bring a pregnancy to term, well, she deserved it.

    If abortion can be restricted, contraception is next.

Leave a Comment

Recent Comments


Posts about

Donald Trump
SEE MORE

Posts about

Rep. Lauren Boebert
SEE MORE

Posts about

Rep. Yadira Caraveo
SEE MORE

Posts about

Colorado House
SEE MORE

Posts about

Colorado Senate
SEE MORE

202 readers online now

Newsletter

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to stay in the loop with regular updates!