Colo. Abortion, 'Religious Freedom' Bills Die in Committee

February 13, 2013 — The Colorado Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday voted 3-2 to reject a bill (SB 56) that would have banned abortion based on the sex of the fetus, the Denver Post reports. The measure was rejected along party lines, with the committee's two Republicans in favor and three Democrats opposed.

State Sen. Ted Harvey (R), who sponsored the bill, said, "We might disagree about when life begins or whether a mother has a right to use abortion for means of birth control, but I hope there is no disagreement about which gender has more human value than the other."

Laura Reinsch, a political organizer at NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado who testified against the bill, said the measure is "a thinly veiled attempt to limit abortion access."

State Sen. Irene Aguilar (D), a physician who also opposed the bill, said that as a doctor, she "would be concerned about asking someone their motive for having an abortion."

House 'Religious Freedom' Bill

Meanwhile, the House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee rejected a bill (HB 1066) that would have permitted a person accused of discrimination to assert a religious reason for their actions and seek to recover attorney's fees.

Opponents said the bill would effectively legalize discrimination for religious reasons, while supporters argued that it was needed to ensure religious freedom (Bartels/ Hoover, Denver Post, 2/11).