(Denver, CO) -- One of the most searched for bills on the Colorado General Assembly Website is set to be heard in the judiciary committee Thursday, March 17th. State Representative Richard Holtorf stated on his social media, he feels the bill would make the California and Washington State blush. The bill's text is posted below. It would make it illegal to interfere with abortion at any stage of the pregnancy.
If you would like to listen into the committee meeting and testimony, it's scheduled to be heard upon adjournment of the House morning meeting which can vary. Here is the listen link. https://leg.colorado.gov/content/judiciary-9
TEXT of the bill:
HB22-1279
Reproductive Health Equity Act
Concerning the codification of a person's fundamental right to make reproductive health-care decisions free from government interference.
SESSION: 2022 Regular Session
SUBJECT: Health Care & Health Insurance
BILL SUMMARY
The bill declares that every individual has a fundamental right to use or refuse contraception; every pregnant individual has a fundamental right to continue the pregnancy and give birth or to have an abortion; and a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent or derivative rights under the laws of the state.
The bill prohibits state and local public entities from:
Denying, restricting, interfering with, or discriminating against an individual's fundamental right to use or refuse contraception or to continue a pregnancy and give birth or to have an abortion in the regulation or provision of benefits, services, information, or facilities; and
Depriving, through prosecution, punishment, or other means, an individual of the individual's right to act or refrain from acting during the individual's own pregnancy based on the potential, actual, or perceived impact on the pregnancy, the pregnancy's outcomes, or on the pregnant individual's health. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)