Note from Scott: Many of you know Senator Byron Pelton from Logan County. He represents Senate District 1, which encompasses much of Northern Weld County. I grew to know the Senator when he was Commissioner Pelton from Logan County and have come to think of him as a brother. His bio reads, “Byron Pelton, a Republican from Sterling, represents District 1 — including Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, Weld, and Yuma counties — in the Colorado state Senate.” I can assure you, he is so much more. I asked for his permission to post an opinion piece he authored for Colorado Politics in my section of this website. He graciously agreed.
We have had many long-hour days down here at the Colorado State Capitol and I have needed way too many cups of coffee; however, yesterday and today have been the most spiritually draining days thus far. My patience and mercy for others have been tested as I have tried to follow God’s command of having love for all others as He loves us (John 15:12-13).
This week, bills were heard in the Senate that threaten our future generations’ right to life and women’s right to bring children into the world. It both saddens and infuriates me that we are living in a society that seems to have forgotten the value of life. Women should be provided the love and resources they need when preparing to become mothers. Though there were three bills discussed on the Senate floor dealing with abortion practices and access (SB23-188, SB23-189, SB23-190), Senate Bill 23-190 really hit a nerve, as it is an anti-choice movement that imposes on women’s rights.
The title of this appalling piece of legislation is “Deceptive Trade Practice Pregnancy-related Service.” If one takes the time to read this five-page bill, one would see this title is an oxymoron, as the text of this legislation contradicts itself. The text states “a pregnant individual has a fundamental right to continue a pregnancy;” however, the text later goes on to say there needs to be a stop to “deceptive trade practices relating to access to timely abortion and emergency contraceptives” with no reference to the other options a pregnant woman has — options that would allow a woman to keep her baby or look into adoption.
This bill goes one step further, still, to contradict itself by adding a statement that would ban access to the medication abortion reversal so that a pregnant woman cannot choose to continue a pregnancy should she decide to stop an abortion process once it has been started. Without access to the medication abortion reversal, a woman’s right to change her mind and choose what is truly best for her is taken away.
On top of taking away a woman’s right to change her mind, this effort also limits the resources a woman has access to. Is this not sending a message to the female population that we, as a society, don’t believe women are capable of knowing all of their options or making their own choice? I certainly do not want my two daughters to ever feel that it is okay for others to make decisions for them and that they do not deserve to have access to all the information out there.
In fact, this lack of reference to the other choices available for a pregnant woman is in itself deceptive. Nowhere in SB23-190 is the word “choice” found, which is ironic as the point of this bill is to stop deceptive practices as a way to give a pregnant woman a choice. It is worth mentioning that the word “deceptive” is found 10 times. For me, it seems that it is deceptive of a health center to focus its efforts on abortion messaging and practices without offering the other options to a pregnant woman seeking resources so she can make a well-informed and researched choice.
In short, this blatant attack on pregnancy resource centers is a specious argument coined by the left to promote abortions and eliminate a woman’s choice in how she handles her pregnancy.