Colorado Governor Jared Polis Signs Bill Prohibiting Lifesaving Care of Innocent Pre-born Children

As you know, the much-welcomed reversal of Roe last June has set in motion an avalanche of pro-abortion legislation and ballot initiatives, including in our home state of Colorado.

I had an opportunity to weigh-in on a particularly grievous series of bills passed in the Centennial State and signed by our governor. My original article appeared in Newsweek last week. I’ve updated the piece to reflect the fast-moving nature of the subject matter. 

Colorado Governor Jared Polis Signs Bill Prohibiting Lifesaving Care of Innocent Pre-born Children 

By: Jim Daly

For many years now, pro-abortion advocates have attempted to perfect the art of using soft words to describe dark deeds, and nowhere more regularly or dangerously than in my home state’s General Assembly. 

Last month, pro-abortion zealots in Colorado introduced a series of three bills, all of which have been signed by Governor Jared Polis. One, called the Reproductive Health Equity Act, will establish the Centennial State as one of the most pro-abortion destinations in the country. 

The three bills liberalize existing abortion laws, and restrict and reduce the wonderful work of pregnancy medical clinics across Colorado. SB23-190, deceptively titled “Prohibiting Deceptive Practices at Anti-Abortion Centers,” ban the reversal of the effects of chemical abortion. 

In short, legislators want to make it illegal for a once abortion-minded woman who has had a change of heart to save her baby. Why? Abortion advocates claim there isn’t enough medical evidence that the taking of progesterone (a naturally occurring hormone) is safe for a woman. Progesterone is used to reverse an ongoing chemical abortion. It must be taken within several hours of starting the chemical abortion cocktail. Over 4,000 women have already halted their chemical abortions through this process. 

In reality, any risk of side effects of progesterone is best weighed by the woman’s doctor, and there is no evidence that women are being harmed by taking the hormone. In fact, we have ample evidence that children’s lives have been saved by the treatment—and mothers have not suffered in the process. Yet we do know that a woman who has started the chemical abortion process, and who doesn’t take the hormone, will suffer the loss of her child. 

The legislation also bans pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) from advertising their services under the premise that their facilities mislead and misrepresent themselves. Once more, the opposite is true. 

Unlike abortion clinics, which often tout their array of “medical” services—but rarely, if ever, offer prenatal care—PRCs actually deliver a variety of services, minus the highly lucrative “service” of abortion. The use of the word “choice” by abortion clinics is just as misleading. Making it illegal for a clinic or doctor to prescribe life-saving progesterone to halt and reverse an ongoing chemical abortion eliminates a woman’s choice. 

One has to wonder—why is there such a determined and concentrated effort to silence pro-life champions? What are abortion activists afraid of—and why do they feel compelled to violate other Americans’ First Amendment rights in order to accomplish their dark and deadly objective? 

Clearly, abortion activists are so hostile to life and its beauty that they’re attempting to ban life-saving care. 

Imagine an expectant mother living in Colorado Springs. Alone, frightened and panicked, she begins the chemical abortion process. But within hours she regrets the rash decision and seeks help and counsel from a local life-affirming center here in Central Colorado. Is there anything that can be done? Well, last week there was—but now, no longer. Her baby will now most likely die—all because the Colorado legislature and Governor Polis decided to block the treatment that would have saved her baby’s life. 

Can someone please tell me how this bill serves her or her baby’s health care? What is deceptive about receiving life-saving assistance? 

Abortion is not health care—it’s the taking of innocent life. It’s not “safe.” Studies have shown that “medication abortions” are four times riskier for a woman than surgical ones, often causing severe side effects. If pro-abortion politicians were truly committed to assisting women’s “overall wellness,” they would be earnest in finding ways to support them in carrying their babies to term and either help them parent or make an adoption plan. 

Children are not a burden or a disease to eradicate with toxic medicine. For several years now, Focus on the Family has been partnering with the My Choice Network and the Abortion Pill Reversal website—excellent resources we strongly recommend. 

This Colorado bill violates First Amendment rights and prohibits women from pursuing life-saving care for their child from a chemical abortion. Tragically, it is likely to be the first of many pro-abortion bills passed across the country. 

It was Pope John Paul II who said, “The promotion of the culture of life should be the highest priority in our societies…. If the right to life is not defended decisively as a condition for all other rights of the person, all other references to human rights remain deceitful and illusory.” He was right then—and is still right today.

Jim Daly is president of Focus on the Family.

Note: My friend Dr. Bill recently reacted to these draconian developments. He is a man of great wisdom. I hope you’ll watch his remarks below:

Topics: Family and Home Tags: pro-life April 19, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura