Colorado earned the creepy distinction Monday for enacting North America’s most extreme abortion law – in a country that tolerates abortion more than most of the civilized world.

Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 1279, which allows abortions during labor and delivery. The law creates ambiguity regarding infants killed post-delivery by cause or neglect.

The law jeopardizes Colorado’s requirement for parental notification when minors seek abortions. Polis issued a signing statement saying the law does no such thing, but he’s probably wrong.

“This law is too extreme for Colorado,” said state Sen. Paul Lundeen, R-Monument, who served on the House Judiciary Committee for four years before advancing to the Senate.

Before Monday, Polis ranked among the best of the Democratic Party’s thin bench of A-list prospects for the White House. Not so much today. Indeed, the law is too extreme for most Coloradans.

That makes it over-the-top extreme for other states, including California. By signing this law, our friend Polis – a loving and devoted father – appears callously dismissive of young life and Judeo-Christian morality. It is hard to fathom why he signed it.

The bill leads with “a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent or derivative rights under the laws of the state.”

That eliminates any proportional justice for women who suffer miscarriages caused by domestic abuse, drunken drivers or other criminal violence. It means Colorado has less regard for unborn humans than California, where prosecutors famously convicted Scott Peterson for murdering his unborn child.

The bill forbids all public entities – prosecutors, cops, judges and juries – “to burden an individual’s fundamental rights relating to reproductive health care.”

“Parental notification could easily be seen as a ‘burden’ to reproductive care,” said former Colorado House Majority Leader Amy Stephens, R-Monument. “The governor’s signing statement is political. It does not change what this law says.”

In Colorado, abortion providers must notify the parents or guardians when minors seek abortions. The decision remains with the young woman. With this law, any hack lawyer could argue that “notification” equals “burden.” It is a burden – by design – to balance the interests of minors and their parents.

It gets worse. The law protects “reproductive health care” from any form of regulation and defines “reproductive health care” to include “postnatal, and delivery care.”

Then it goes further, forbidding consequences for reproductive decisions made regardless of “the pregnancy’s outcomes.” Common “outcomes” include birthed infants.

“If a child is challenged in some way with one or more imperfections, I believe this law puts that child in danger,” Lundeen said.

This unthinkable action could happen when a mother contracts with the Boulder Abortion Clinic – “specializing in late abortions” – if she delivers before the procedure. Dr. Warren Hern, the clinic’s founder, lobbied for this law. It could happen when a woman delivers an infant with Down syndrome. It could happen to “crack babies.”

Opponents raised these concerns as Democrats rolled their eyes and crossed their arms defensively. Republicans suggested Senate Democrats simply resolve the concern with any of the 16 amendments they offered to clarify exactly what the bill would and would not allow. Democrats rejected them all in favor of confusion that will certainly allow partial-birth abortions – where infants are killed in a barbaric manner after their heads present – and potentially the choice of postnatal deaths.

“They brought the bill saying we needed to codify Roe because the Supreme Court might overrule it,” Lundeen said. “Instead, this bill dramatically expands abortion rights in a state that already had almost no restrictions.”

Colorado became the country’s most enthusiastic abortion state Monday. It was a sad day for Gov. Polis, who diminished his brand as a compassionate, moderate man of faith with presidential potential.

Colorado Springs Gazette editorial board