In a House committee meeting that went past midnight Thursday, Democrats defeated three Republican-sponsored abortion bills, one of which would have criminalized abortion in most cases.

Democrats in the House Health, Insurance, & Environment Committee shot down the three bills, with Pueblo state Rep. Daneya Esgar, a Democrat asking two sponsors of the bills, Do either one of you believe this bill (House Bill 1108) is constitutional?

State Rep. Steve Humphrey answered, according to a Denver Post report, I believe the constitutionality of the Roe v. Wade decision is in big trouble.

Democrats said HB1108 echoes the personhood movement, which Colorado voters have rejected three times in general elections. The bill would have made it a felony for a physician to take an unborn life, defined as beginning at conception. It contains exceptions for cases in which a pregnant womans life is in danger.

Another rejected bill, HB1086, would have required abortion doctors to tell patients about a hormone-boosting pill that backers say can reverse an abortion in progress, as long as its taken before misoprostol, the second drug taken in the course of a chemically induced abortion.

Another measure, HB1085, would have imposed new regulations on abortion clinics, requiring them to file detailed annual reports with the state and submit to regular inspections. It also would have required that clinics have certain advanced medical equipment on hand, such as ultrasounds and resuscitation and life-support machines for infants.

In a press release, Republicans wrote, The outcome of todays votes is out of touch with the shifting public attitudes towards abortion, and in the four decades since the Roe v. Wade decision, scientific research has wholly disproved the long-held medical justifications for abortion.

Compiled by Peter Strescino from newspaper, wire and email sources.

Read more here:
Dems defeat anti-choice bills - Pueblo Chieftain

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