The House State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee sadly voted along party lines (6-5) to defeat Senate Bill 268 which would have recognized unborn children as victims of certain crimes; like those recently perpetrated against baby Aurora in Longmont. It is deeply disappointing that a majority of legislators on the House State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee did not see the urgent need to fix this inadequacy in Colorado law.
The majority of states and the federal government, with the support from both Democrats and Republicans, have enacted fetal homicide laws; these types of laws recognize that when a woman is pregnant and certain crimes are perpetrated there is the ability to recognize two victims – the woman and her unborn child.
The failure to enact a fetal homicide law in Colorado is a grave miscarriage of justice that leaves future unborn victims of crime unrecognized in Colorado law. It is our hope that legislators in Colorado will recognize their error in judgment and seek to rectify this inadequacy in Colorado law as soon as possible. In the meantime let us continue to pray for all unborn victims of crime and their families.
Below are the members of the House State, Veterans & Military Affairs committee, their contact information and how they voted on SB 268. Please thank members of the committee that voted to support this legislation.
State, Veterans & Military Affairs: 11 members
Rep. Su Ryden D HD 36 Chair OPPOSE
303-866-2942
[email protected]
Rep. Joe Salazar D HD 31 Vice Chair OPPOSE
303-866-2918
[email protected]
Rep. Mike Foote D HD 12 OPPOSE
303-866-2920
[email protected]
Rep. Steve Humphrey R HD 48 SUPPORT
303-866-2943
[email protected]
Rep. Susan Lontine D HD 1 OPPOSE
303-866-2966
[email protected]
Rep. Patrick Neville R HD 45 SUPPORT
303-866-2948
[email protected]
Rep. Dianne Primavera D HD 33 OPPOSE
303-866-4667
[email protected]
Rep. Jack Tate R HD 37 SUPPORT
303-866-5510
[email protected]
Rep. Dan Thurlow R HD 55 SUPPORT
303-866-3068
[email protected]
Rep. Max Tyler D HD 23 OPPOSE
303-866-2951
[email protected]
Rep. Yeulin Willett R HD 54 SUPPORT
303-866-2583
[email protected]