DENVER – Democrats in the Colorado House of Representatives drew fire from Republicans when they passed a resolution supporting women’s access to reproductive health care.
House Minority Leader Patrick Neville, R-Franktown, said such resolutions waste valuable time that should be spent solving Colorado’s myriad issues. “How is this resolution a productive use of our time?” Neville said. “If you don’t agree with us and the millions of Coloradans that believe we should protect life, that’s fine. You don’t have to agree with us, and you will have the opportunity to vote against the legislation we have introduced.”
Rep. Joe Salazar, D-Thornton, said Neville’s statements are hypocritical, as Republican’s propose bills regarding personhood and restricting reproductive rights knowing Democrats will not allow it to pass.
“They bring it knowing that those bills are going to die. They know that is going to be a waste of taxpayers’ dollars; so for him to stand up there and say what he said is just hypocrisy at its finest,” Salazar said.
On Tuesday, Neville said resolutions such as this one or House Joint Resolution 1013, which responded to President Donald Trump’s immigration ban, represent the Legislature attempting to influence Congress when it has no power to do so.
Salazar said that is a disservice to the political statements and the lawmakers who sponsor them. “These are important resolutions that (the) community wants to reaffirm and reassert how Colorado feels,” he said.
For the GOP leadership in the House, the measures are just another dagger in the heart of the bipartisan spirit existing before the session began in January.
“Right now, the way they are operating with this, they are playing gamesmanship, and it’s really an embarrassment to the body and the chamber. We need to get down to the business that people elected us to do,” Neville said.
House Resolution 1005 – concerning assurance of access to reproductive health care – was the cause for Wednesday’s bout of partisan sentiment. It passed along party lines, with 35 of the 37 Democrats adding their names as sponsors.
This resolution states: “Colorado continues to be a state where all individuals’ health remains a top priority, and Coloradans resist attempts to undermine the right to access reproductive health care.”
Copies will be sent to Trump and Vice President Mike Pence as well as members of Congress and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.
Cristina Aguilar, executive director of the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights, said the resolution “is a strong declaration that contraception, prenatal and maternity care, fertility services and abortion are a vital component of any health care system and essential to meeting the needs of the women and families in our state.”
lperkins@durangoherald.com
