March, 12 2014, 11:47am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Karen Middleton, Executive Director, NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado
720-251-6695 (cell)
www.prochoicecolorado.org
Colorado Abortion Ban Bill Defeated
Legislation at Odds with Colorado Voters and Values, Puts Government in Between Women and their Doctor on Private, Personal Medical Decisions
DENVER
Last night, the Colorado House Judiciary Committee voted to defeat HB 1133, a proposed total abortion ban that could also have banned emergency contraception and sent doctors to jail. Colorado is a historically pro-choice state and attempts to ban abortion at the legislative level and through ballot measures have repeatedly failed. Coloradans have declared that they support keeping personal, private medical decisions, including the decision to have an abortion, between women and their doctors.
HB 1133 would define pregnancy from the moment of fertilization in Colorado, banning abortion and emergency contraception in almost all cases, even for victims of rape or incest. It makes providing abortion care in Colorado a Class 3 felony, which carries a minimum 4-12 year sentence. The abortion ban bill had the support of Republican Leadership with Minority Leader Brian DelGrosso (R-Loveland) signed on as a co-sponsor.
According to Dr. Kristina Tocce, a practicing obstetrician-gynecologist, "House Bill 1133 defines pregnancy from the moment of "fertilization." 30-70% of fertilized eggs do not develop into a newborn baby due to natural processes. Making it illegal to terminate all fertilized eggs will limit the ability of physicians to administer medically appropriate treatments for ectopic pregnancies, spontaneous miscarriages, and molar pregnancies - which can often be life threatening.
She continued, "Passing this bill will cause physicians like me to pause and wonder 'Will I be charged with a felony for treating this condition?' By legislating the doctor-patient relationship, this bill would invade the privacy that is essential for standard and safe medical care. It will ultimately hurt patients, and this is my biggest fear.
"Making it a class 3 felony to help these patients through a private medical decision seems surreal. These decisions need to be made between patients, their families and their physicians. They should not have to deal with politicians during one of the most difficult times in their lives."
"This bill would put women in real danger," said Ilyse Hogue, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America. "It goes to show how far the anti-choice movement's values have drifted from mainstream America that they would push a bill that would ban not just abortion, but emergency contraception, and threaten doctors with jail for treating their patients. This is a great example of why politicians should stay out of women's personal medical decisions - they make lousy doctors."
"It's bad enough that this bill put politicians and government in between Colorado women, their families, and their physicians, something Colorado voters have repeatedly rejected at the ballot box," said Karen Middleton, Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado. "This bill could result in jailing doctors."
"This bill is an insult to Colorado women and physicians, and out of touch with Colorado voters. Too many of our politicians still don't get it, and we need to say thank you to those that do support us and stand up for mainstream Colorado values," Middleton concluded.
For over 50 years, Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America) has fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, pregnancy and post-partum care, and paid family leave—for everybody. Reproductive Freedom for All is powered by its more than 4 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 8 in 10 Americans who support legal abortion.
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Republican U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas on Tuesday again blocked the passage of House-approved bipartisan legislation meant to shield journalists and telecommunications companies from being compelled to disclose sources and other information to federal authorities.
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Cotton, who blocked a vote on the legislation in December 2022, again objected to the bill, a move that thwarted its speedy passage. The Republican called the legislation a "threat to national security" and "the biggest giveaway to the liberal press in American history."
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Trump has picked Harmeet Dhillon as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. She has stated that it must be "made unsafe" for hospitals to provide trans care, and frequently shares Libs of TikTok posts. She intends to target trans people in blue states. Subscribe to support my journalism.
[image or embed]
— Erin Reed (@erininthemorning.com) December 10, 2024 at 8:14 AM
Reed continued:
Dhillon's most prominent work includes founding the Center for American Liberty, a legal organization that focuses heavily on anti-transgender cases in blue states. The organization's "featured cases" section highlights several lawsuits, such as Chloe Cole's case against Kaiser Permanente; a lawsuit challenging a Colorado school's use of a transgender student's preferred name; a case against a California school district seeking to implement policies that would forcibly out transgender students; and a lawsuit against Vermont for denying a foster care license to a family unwilling to comply with nondiscrimination policies regarding transgender youth.
Reed also highlighted Dhillon's attacks on state laws protecting transgender people, as well as her expression of "extreme anti-trans views" on social media—including calling gender-affirming healthcare for trans children "child abuse."
Last year, The Guardian's Jason Wilson reported that the Center for American Liberty made a six-figure payment to a public relations firm that represented Dhillion in both "her capacity as head of her own for-profit law firm and Republican activist."
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