Oppose SB 143: End Freedom of Choice Bill
Senate Bill 143 (Renfroe, Lambert), "End Freedom of Choice," would ban all abortions in Colorado except those performed to save the life of the pregnant woman. There are no exceptions for survivors of rape or incest. This unconstitutional measure violates a woman's protected right to choose an abortion held in Roe v. Wade and makes no exception for the preservation of the health of the mother as found in Roe and upheld in Planned Parenthood v. Casey and Stenberg v. Carhart. SB 143 also would change the definition of pregnancy, which would have a chilling impact on reproductive health care for Colorado women. BILL SUMMARY• SB 143 would ban all abortions in Colorado except to save the life of the mother.
• This bill would create a class 3 felony, which carries a 4-12 year prison term, for doctors who perform an abortion.
• SB 143 would change Colorado’s statutory definition of pregnancy.
• If, after enactment, any singular provision of SB 143 is declared unconstitutional, those provisions not challenged would remain in force.
SB 143 IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL• SB 143 is unconstitutional under Roe v. Wade, which held that states cannot interfere with a woman’s constitutionally protected right to terminate her pregnancy and that state regulations of abortion must include exceptions to preserve the life or health of the mother.
• SB 143 is unconstitutional under Planned Parenthood v. Casey and Stenberg v. Carhart, which affirmed Roe’s finding requiring state abortion laws to include provisions allowing procedures to preserve the health of the mother.
SB 143 PUTS GOVERNMENT IN PERSONAL, PRIVATE HEALTH CARE DECISIONS• SB 143 violates individuals’ right to privacy in medical care: The state could review a woman’s medical records if a confirmed or suspected pregnancy does not result in a live birth to determine whether a medically performed abortion or natural miscarriage prevented the live birth.
• Requires female survivors of rape and incest to carry their attacker’s child.
• Forces women to carry a pregnancy to term as the consequence of unprotected sexual intercourse or instances when contraception fails. SB 143 CRIMINALIZES DOCTORS & QUESTIONS THEIR MEDICAL EXPERTISE
• Under SB 143, doctors who perform an abortion in Colorado – an otherwise legal, constitutionally protected medical procedure – could be sentenced to 12 years in prison.
• Exempts doctors from criminal prosecution only if an abortion is performed to save the life of a pregnant woman or if unintentional injury or death to a fetus occurs while doctors administer care to the pregnant woman.
• Questions the medical decisions made by licensed, trained physicians in determining the necessity of an otherwise legal medical procedure. No other legal medical procedure is subject to state review to assess medical necessity.Click here for a printer-friendly fact sheet. (Please note that you will need Adobe Acrobat to view this file.)
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