The Archdiocese of Denver today called on the faithful to oppose a bill in Colorado legislature that would, according to the state’s Catholic conference, pose «an undeniable and irreparable danger» to pro-life laws.
“This bill would go far beyond just (Freedom of Choice Act) abortion concerns and wouldcreate a ‘fundamental right’ to not only abortion, but also to other things defined as ‘reproductive healthcare’ in this bill,” said conference director Jenny Kraska. “In fact proponents of this bill state that this bill will be the first of its kind in the country.”
The bill is being debated today.
“It’s very broadly written and therefore has the potential to be broadly interpreted,” Kraska said. “It has the potential to overturn and make null and void good laws like parental notification for children who want to get an abortion.”
Karna Swanson, spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Denver, said the bill could “be a devastating blow that would firmly establish a culture of death here in Colorado.”
“The pro-life movement has been working for decades to promote legislation that protects life and promotes a culture that is life-giving and life-affirming. This legislation directly attacks those efforts, and threatens to sever that most beautiful bond between mother and child,” Swanson said.
She added that the bill would “threaten the many initiatives here in Colorado that aim to help mothers through an unplanned pregnancy, which would be particularly tragic for poor women who depend on these services that they can’t find anywhere outside of the pro-life movement.”
The two-page bill proposes that no government entity may create policies that deny or interfere with an individual’s reproductive healthcare decisions. “Individuals” with this “right” are not defined in the law, she said.
“Even the definitions alone they want to put in statute are extraordinarily dangerous and have far reaching impacts,” Kraska said.
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On the Net:
For more information, see article in the Denver Catholic Register: http://denvercatholicregister.org/abortion-rights-bill-hits-state-capitol/#.U0bfKl6rMct
