A Colorado proposal spearheaded by Democrats that would prohibit any state or local policy that “denies or interferes with an individual’s reproductive health care decisions” has spawned a stark partisan split in the legislature and drawn a strong rebuke from the Archdiocese of Denver.
The proposal’s sponsor, state Sen. Andy Kerr, D-Lakewood, said he wants to prevent any future policy that can hinder women’s abortion rights in Colorado.
Kerr, who is running for re-election in a swing Jefferson County district, said his constituents have expressed at town halls and forums concerns over efforts in other states to make it more difficult for women to seek guidance on abortions and receive common forms of contraception.
Senate Bill 175, which passed out of a Senate committee late last week on a party-line vote, was scheduled to be debated on the Senate floor Tuesday, but after a state senator was excused due to illness, the debate was postponed.
Although broad in scope and viewed by some lawmakers as a tool to gain the support of women voters, Kerr said it would guarantee that state or local policies won’t interfere with reproductive decisions such as abortion and contraception. For example, the proposal notes that the “state, its agencies, institutions, political subdivisions and unit of local government shall not enact a policy regarding reproductive health care that is inconsistent with or interferes with access to information based on current evidence based scientific data and medical consensus.”
Kerr said, “We’re trying to make sure the a person’s right to make a decision, whether it’s to use contraceptives or to have an abortion, that that decision is made by an individual person, and that a politician is not taking away that freedom.”
The Archdiocese of Denver, as well as a handful of other religious organizations, has taken issue with the bill.
At a gathering on the west steps of the state Capitol on Tuesday, hundreds came out to hear Archbishop Samuel Aquila denounce the proposal.
In a letter to parishioners over the weekend, Aquila called the proposal an “overreaching piece of legislation that would essentially shut down any attempt to pass life-affirming legislation in Colorado ever again.”
Aquila said the bill prevents regulations such as waiting periods, restrictions on abortion pills and parental-notification policies. He argued that it would eliminate abortion clinic health-code regulations.
None of this is outlined in the proposal, which is written more like a resolution and offers limited details.
“The fact is there is nothing in the bill that says that this law won’t affect current regulations in place,” Aquila said in a statement.”The main concern many have about this bill is that it is both broad, extreme and dangerously ambiguous.”
Senate Republicans are staunchly opposed to the measure.
Kerr, whose Senate co-sponsor is Jeanne Nicholson, D-Black Hawk, said people are receiving misinformation on this bill. Kerr notes that ballot initiatives for issues surrounding efforts such as personhood would still be permitted since those are moves to change the state constitution.
Kurtis Lee: 303-954-1655, klee@ denverpost.com or twitter.com/kurtisalee
