Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) signed HB-1279. Americans United for Life's Katie Glenn testified against this abortion bill. Here's what she had to say.
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Dear John,
My name is Katie Glenn, and I serve as Government Affairs Counsel of Americans United for Life, a national law and policy nonprofit organization with a specialization in abortion, end-of-life, and bioethics law. Our vision at AUL is a world where everyone is welcomed in life and protected in law.
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Recently, I had the opportunity to testify against HB 22-1279, a bill that would confuse existing laws, dehumanize the unborn, and prevent Colorado lawmakers from responding to specific problems as they arise. Here's what I had to say:
What does this CO bill cover? The legislators don’t even know.
Does this fundamental right (of abortion) apply to minors? If so, that would invalidate Colorado’s parental notice law and would certainly infringe upon Colorado’s parental rights laws which state that parents have a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the care, including medical treatments, of their children.
How might it impact an unborn child’s ability to be a beneficiary under estate law that this bill removes all derivative rights?
What does “interference” mean? Would it mean that the state could not investigate dangerous lawbreakers?
This bill would engender a regulatory regime akin to the one in Pennsylvania that allowed the infamous abortion provider Kermit Gosnell to operate his “House of Horrors” for many years. Gosnell, who was ultimately convicted and given a life sentence, was able to provide unsafe, unsanitary, and deadly abortions for many years because, according to the Grand Jury report, the Pennsylvania Department of Health thought it could not inspect or regulate abortion clinics because that would interfere with access to abortion.
This bill lowers professional accountability.
It does not protect, empower, or help anyone other than abortion businesses. If you knew someone was breaking the law, could you stop them—or would that be a violation of this “fundamental right?”
Similar bills introduced in Vermont and New Hampshire have included under this new “fundamental right” the right to have your insurance or the state pay for reproductive technology like IVF, egg freezing, and surrogacy. This broadly written bill will be taken to court and interpreted to cover all sorts of things the bill sponsors do not anticipate today. That question of “access” becomes a problem when what someone wants costs too much, takes too long, or no local healthcare professional wants to do it.
Colorado law does not protect infants born alive during an abortion.
It does not include infants born alive protection under criminal law. There is an enhancement for assault on a pregnant woman, but the child is not recognized as a second and separate victim. It does include an infant testing positive for a controlled substance at birth under the definition of “child abuse.” Will that be overruled by this bill as drug use during pregnancy is now a fundamental right? We don’t know.
This law creates a legal fiction.
Colorado law denies any independent rights to any unborn child. A unique, unrepeatable human being will still be created at the moment of fertilization. Nothing about this law changes the biological reality of the child. The sponsors of this bill have decided that the youngest Coloradans aren’t worth protecting, but that does not mean that they are not members of the human family.
One of this bill’s sponsors said that it was about the pregnant woman’s “body, life, and future.” What about the body, life, and future of the child, each connected but separate from their mother?
The Reality of Our Fight Today
Pro-abortion legislators are blinded by their goal of enshrining a "right" to abortion. As we've seen pro-life victories in many states, we're also seeing the radical advancement of a pro-death agenda in other states. This time before Dobbs ([link removed]) is critical. Would you stand with us? We can only continue with the generous support of our partners.
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For Life,
Katie Glenn, J.D.
Government Affairs Counsel,
Americans United For Life
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