It’s been nearly 50 years since the United States Supreme Court legalized abortion in Roe v. Wade, and finally, the Texas fetal heartbeat bill may demonstrate a way for states to move forward with legislation that promotes a culture of life — not death. The heartbeat bill marks the beginning of a new era of abortion policy in America, where the inherent value of an unborn human life once again has protection under the law based on the simple truth that it is human.

Also read: COUNTERPOINT | Abortion restriction wouldn’t help

Since the implementation of the Texas heartbeat law, Colorado has become a travel destination for abortion. This is the wrong direction for our state. Colorado should follow suit and enact a heartbeat bill to protect unborn human life and end the horrific and inhumane practice of abortion.

On Sept. 1, the Texas fetal heartbeat bill went into effect. The law protects the life of an unborn fetus once a heartbeat is detected. It allows for abortion up to approximately six weeks gestation and when the mother is experiencing a medical emergency that necessitates an abortion.

This law is unique because it creates a private cause of action and allows individuals to sue abortion providers or anyone else aiding or abetting illegal abortions instead of requiring public officials to enforce the law. Lawsuits will target the abortion industry — not women.

Pro-life groups believe at least 150 babies will be saved from death by abortion in Texas every day because of the fetal heartbeat bill. That’s over 1,000 lives a week.

Abortion advocates inaccurately label abortion a reproductive health issue. Abortion is not a health issue. Abortion is the intentional taking of human life.

Science tells us that human life begins at conception and starts as a fertilized egg. The unborn fetus has its own unique DNA, sex, eye color, and even fingerprints. The Mayo Clinic describes week three of fetal development as fertilization and explains that chromosomes contributed by the biological mother and father “determine your baby’s sex and physical traits.” Every human began as a fertilized egg. That’s just science.

Abortion advocates argue that human life growing in the womb is just a clump of cells. That argument is more than misleading, it’s intellectually dishonest and anti-science. Again, consider the Mayo Clinic’s description of unborn life at week six of fetal development. “The neural tube along your baby’s back is closing. The baby’s brain and spinal cord will develop from the neural tube. The heart and other organs also are starting to form and the heart begins to beat.”

The value and status of human life is not dependent on age, size, location, or ability. Abortion advocates like to argue that an unborn baby’s right to life doesn’t exist unless certain conditions are met, but the truth is human life in the womb has intrinsic value because it is human life. If we were to apply some of the same conditions that abortion advocates like to use to dehumanize babies in the womb to toddlers or the mentally or physically disabled, the result would be appalling, and rightly so. Some of the worst human rights injustices in the world resulted from people denying the humanity and personhood of other humans.

Colorado leaders ended the death penalty for convicted murders but won’t end the death penalty for innocent preborn humans. It’s time for Colorado to embrace the sanctity of life for our most vulnerable.

Nicole C. Hunt is a wife, mother of four, attorney, crisis pregnancy volunteer, and the co-founder of the Coalition to Help Moms and Save Babies, a Colorado issue committee established to end late-term abortion.