Lawmakers worked overnight and into early Thursday morning on legislation that seeks to enshrine the unequivocal right to an abortion in state law.   

The House Health & Insurance Committee approved House Bill 1279 along a 7-4 party-line vote just after 3:40 a.m.

More than 300 people signed up to testify on the bill, also known as the Reproductive Health Equity Act. 

Rep. Meg Froelich, D-Greenwood Village, one of the co-sponsors of HB 1279, told the House Health & Insurance Committee that HB 1279 would establish a fundamental right to choose to continue a pregnancy and give birth, or to have an abortion. Fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses do not have independent rights under the law, she told the committee. But women’s rights are under attack on this issue, she said.

“This is about our right to make private medical decisions,” Froelich said. “This is ensuring access and affirms that people have the right to control their own bodies.”

Nineteen states have enacted restrictions on abortion, including a 2021 law in Texas that bans the procedure once cardiac activity is detected, which has resulted in copycat legislation in other states.

As Majority Leader Daneya Esgar, D-Pueblo, began to explain the bill, she was interrupted by a woman who started yelling about “killing babies.” The woman was removed from the room by Colorado State Patrol officer. A half dozen officers were on hand for the hearing.

“I wish we didn’t have to bring this bill forward,” Esgar told the committee, adding that the most personal medical decisions should not be controlled by politicians “like us.” But with the U.S. Supreme Court taking up two challenges to Roe v. Wade, it is critical to protect abortion rights, she said. 

Since 2008, Colorado voters have four times, and by wide margins, rejected restrictions or outright bans on abortions. At the state Capitol, 44 bills have been introduced to do the same, including three in the 2022 session, all defeated.

Esgar said the voters’ decisions make it clear that they trust individuals to make their own reproductive health care decisions free from political interference.

Rep. Stephanie Luck, R-Penrose, asked why the sponsors chose a statutory change rather than seek a Constitutional ballot measure.

Sponsors said the U.S. Supreme Court’s pending decision, which is expected in June, makes it necessary for Colorado to act now. But they also noted an effort underway by a reproductive health rights coalition to launch a constitutional ballot measure for the 2024 election.

If HB 1279 is not passed and Roe v. Wade is overturned, Esgar said, Colorado could end up with municipalities passing abortion laws piecemeal, another reason for the urgency of the bill.

“Our job is to look out for the entire state,” she said.

Dozens of abortion advocates have so far testified on behalf of the bill, including COBALT, Planned Parenthood, obstetricians and gynecologists, as well as people from the faith community. They also included women who have had abortions.

Katherine Riley of the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights spoke about the effects restricting abortions would have on women of color. Those restrictions fall hard on people of color who already struggle with access to quality healthcare, Riley said, and Latinas are twice as likely as white women to experience an unintended pregnancy. Women of color also experience more harm and inequities during the pregnancy and birth cycle, which includes higher rates of maternal and infant mortality, she said.

Riley, who is five weeks away from giving birth, noted she underwent an abortion about 10 years ago. She was able to finish school, go on to graduate school and achieve personal goals.

“I know I will be a better mom because of that decision. Every person deserves the right to make that decision for themselves,” she said.

Rabbi Joseph Black told the committee he and his wife are carriers of Tay Sachs disease, a fatal genetic disorder. Those babies endure a painful and gruesome death, Black said. He and his wife have two healthy children but also had to abort one.

“When government puts itself in a position to legislate how people care for their bodies, unless that decision impacts the health of the general population, we cross a dangerous line,” said Black, who supports HB 1279.

Doctors also argue the bill is needed.

Dr. Donald Aptekar, an OB-GYN at the University of Colorado, said he has cared for “15,000 happily pregnant women and have personally delivered over 5,000 desired babies.” Aptekar said he has also counseled women on their personal reproductive decisions, free from any governmental restriction or limitation. HB 1279 is necessary to allow women to control their bodies and their reproductive choices, he said.

Dr. Nancy Fang, also an OB-GYN, spoke of a patient who left a hospital in Texas to come to Colorado for an abortion. Her water broke at four months, and her only options were either to wait until she became septic or get an abortion. She flew to Colorado for the procedure and is now fine, Fang said, adding: “Patients count us to help them in their worst moments.”

Those who opposed HB 1279 included the mother of a son with Down’s syndrome. Voting for this bill means her son’s life is not worth living, she told the committee. Some prayed, others read Bible verses and still others warned that those who vote for the bill would face God’s wrath. 

Dr. Thomas Perille, a retired internist with Democrats for Life, said the bill allows discrimination on the basis of age, sex, race and disability. Even North Korea and China don’t have laws like this, he said. Contrary to what many of the people on the committee might believe, he said, while most Coloradans are pro-choice, they are not pro-unrestricted abortion.  

Others testifying against the bill included included a man who signed up in support of HB 1279, but instead launched into a speech on eugenics. Another man, who wasn’t identified, said the bill is immoral and called the sponsors and backers of HB 1279 murderers and hypocrites. William Duffy of Colorado Right to Life said HB 1279 is the worst bill in the history of the country.

Several former Republican lawmakers also appealed to the committee to reject the bill.

Former House Majority Leader Amy Stephens, R-Colorado Springs, told the committee that while she was a lawmaker, she had never seen a bill as “callous or barbaric toward the unborn” as HB 1279. “There are holes” in this legislation that makes it ripe for lawsuits, she said, such as whether the state has the right to deny rights to the unborn, when she said the U.S. Constitution says rights are granted by God. She also claimed the bill would tie the hands of district attorneys on domestic violence cases since the unborn have no rights. 

Former Rep. Lori Saine, R-Firestone, now a Weld County commissioner and candidate for Congressional District 8, said her heart breaks when she hears of women having abortions for financial reasons or because “the time isn’t right.” A government that does not recognize life cannot secure anyone’s rights, she said. 

HB 1279 now heads to the full House.