DENVER—A Colorado Republican said pressure from both sides of the abortion debate forced him to abandon a proposal Thursday that would have allowed prosecutors to charge people with killing a pregnant woman’s baby, a crime he maintains is not properly addressed in state law.
El Paso County Rep. Mark Waller insisted his proposal was about adequately prosecuting cases, not abortion.
“My goal all along was not to move the dial at all regarding the abortion issue. My goal was to criminalize an act,” he said, moments before asking a House committee to indefinitely postpone his bill. The lawmakers agreed unanimously.
House Bill 1256 would have created new felony charges, such as unlawful termination of a pregnancy in the first, second, and third degrees. A fourth-degree charge would be a misdemeanor. The bill would also create an offense for vehicular unlawful termination of a pregnancy.
The bill stated that it didn’t “confer the status of ‘person'” to an unborn child. It also included language saying people wouldn’t be charged in cases where a mother consents to medical care.
Waller said each side of the abortion debate worried the bill would go against their positions and he and other lawmakers couldn’t allay those concerns. He said it’s “incredibly unfortunate” that Colorado, unlike 35 other states, has not been able to address the issue of how to punish people who kill a pregnant woman’s unborn child.
“And that’s because while this is a criminal justice issue, it inflames passions on both sides of the abortion issue,” Waller said.
Colorado Right to Life, an anti-abortion group, opposed the bill, because it provided exceptions for abortion and did not confer personhood rights to unborn children. Bob Enyart, a spokesman for the group, said they agree a law needs to be created to address crimes against pregnant women, but they did not like the direction Waller took.
“He chose to go with a bill that is a 16-page monstrosity that deserved to be stillborn,” Enyart said.
Focus on the Family also opposed the bill, but its main concern was that it would repeal the state’s criminal abortion statutes. The state Supreme Court ruled in 1973 that those statues are unconstitutional, but they remain in the books until the Legislature decides to delete them.
“We agree the law needs to be strengthened and I regret that this bill was not one we could support,” said Carrie Gordon Earll, a spokeswoman for the group.
Planned Parenthood said in a statement that it were disappointed the bill was pulled “based on a vocal minority of anti-abortion extremists.”
“Planned Parenthood came to the table in good faith with multiple, thoughtful solutions to address everyone’s needs in this complex area of law,” said Vicki Cowart, CEO and president of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.
Waller said he decided to pursue the bill because of a Denver woman who was eight months pregnant when she was struck by a car last year, causing her to lose her baby. The driver has never been caught. A driver in such a case could be charged with vehicular assault or another charge under existing law, but the bill would have created laws that would mete out a more just punishment, said Sen. Pat Steadman, a Denver Democrat who was co-sponsoring the bill.
