Colorado Republicans are pressing ahead with anti-abortion measures, introducing a bill that would ban the procedure over the objection of Democrats who retook control of the state House in the 2012 elections.
"We're not going to be the kind of caucus that puts our thumbs on people and says, 'This is what you get to do and this is what you don't get to do,' " said state House Republican Leader Mark Waller, according to the
Denver Post.
Waller was referring to House Speaker Mark Ferrandino's criticism of their efforts.
"Lessons on the campaign trail over the last year haven't been learned," Ferrandino said Thursday. "They say this is not their agenda, but it is one of the first bills introduced by the Republican Party."
The bill sponsored by state Republican Rep. Steve Humphrey would outlaw abortions in the state, including cases involving rape and incest, the Post reported.
"I ran as a pro-life candidate. I understand it's very controversial, but I'm not going to back away from it," Humphrey said. "The heart of the bill is that life begins at conception."
Another bill introduced by Republican Janak Joshi, would allow prosecutors to charge a person who commits a crime that causes a pregnant woman to lose her baby.
Critics of the measure said the Joshi bill would bestow "personhood" status on a fetus, criminalizing abortion, the Post noted. Waller, however, insisted the legislation was a criminal justice measure and not an abortion bill
A third measure introduced by GOP lawmakers would also ban sex-selection abortions. The bill's sponsor, state Sen. Ted Harvey, acknowledged it could be difficult to determine whether a woman was seeking an abortion because of the sex of the fetus.
But Harvey, the newspaper reported, said, "No one should wage a war on women, especially when they are unborn."
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