DENVER (AP) — Republican legislation to make the killing of a fetus a homicide in certain cases is getting its first hearing in the Colorado Senate.
State lawmakers have considered the idea before, without agreement on how to pass such a law without infringing on abortion rights. The latest proposal being heard Wednesday in a Senate committee is driven by the Longmont case of a woman accused of cutting open the belly of an expecting mother and removing her baby girl.
The girl died, but prosecutors have said current law doesn’t allow them to charge the suspect with homicide. However, the suspect faces several charges that will send her to prison for life if she’s convicted.
Republicans say they’ve crafted the bill to not interfere with abortion rights. Democrats aren’t convinced.
