On March 11, 2014, Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Board Chair Andrea Shpall testified on behalf of ADL against a bill introduced in the Colorado legislature that would have made abortion illegal from the moment of conception. Following spirited testimony from proponents and opponents of the bill, lawmakers in the House Judiciary Committee defeated the measure with a 9-2 vote.

 

State Representative Stephen Humphrey and Senator Scott Renfroe sponsored the bill.  The bill, which “prohibits abortion and makes a violation a class 3 felony,” did not stipulate any exceptions, even for rape, incest, or to protect the health of the mother.

 

ADL urged the legislature to oppose such legislation. Shpall stated in her testimony,

“This bill would violate the religious freedom of Coloradans, violate the United States Constitution, provide insufficient exceptions, and result in a litany of harmful, unintended consequences. HB 1133 gravely threatens religious freedom by imposing one religious view – which many do not share – on all Coloradans. Women should be free to make decisions about their bodies and their pregnancies, in conjunction with their doctors, according to their own belief and morals. In addition to the threat to religious freedom that this bill creates, it is clearly unconstitutional.”

 

ADL is grateful to Andrea Shpall and to its Government Affairs Committee for its commitment to speaking out against this bill, affirming our commitment to full reproductive rights for women, and thereby furthering ADL’s mission to “secure justice and fair treatment to all.”