DENVER – Planned Parenthood in Colorado is preparing for a controversial legislative session after recent events placed a spotlight on the reproductive health provider.
The organization has its own ideas for the session that will begin next month, including expanding access to contraceptives and protecting providers.
But it also will likely be on the defense after secretly recorded videos surfaced over the summer that allege Planned Parenthood participated in trafficking fetal body parts, a claim the organization vehemently rejects.
“We’re expecting the session to be as crazy as it was last time, times 12,” said Cathy Alderman, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood Votes Colorado.
Last session saw familiar attempts to create so-called “personhood” status, in which constitutional rights are assigned to the unborn, thereby potentially banning abortion.
Some Republicans took aim at funding for a successful state program that provides birth control to low-income young women. Criticism from some GOP members also targeted more general state-assisted family planning services, including pregnancy counseling programs.
Since then, the climate has become more polarized. Most recently, a gunman targeted a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs last month, killing three people, including a police officer. Statements from the gunman suggest that the incident may have been motivated by discussions over fetal body parts.
Pro-life group Center for Medical Progress released videos that the group says shows Planned Parenthood profiting from fetal-tissue programs. The secretly recorded videos were heavily edited, said forensic experts.
Colorado Republicans held a listening session at the state Capitol last month to discuss a possible investigation into Planned Parenthood because of the videos. State health officials have been unwilling to launch a review, citing a lack of credible evidence.
Universities and research facilities accept fetal-tissue donations, but Planned Parenthood in Colorado does not contract with any of them.
Just days after the Colorado Springs shooting spree, Republicans used a budget briefing to allege a lack of transparency from state health officials.
This year, some Republicans are discussing measures to curb Planned Parenthood’s financial resources – though it does not receive direct state funding – while also forcing an investigation. Republicans also want to impose restrictions on fetal-tissue research programs and require abortion providers to counsel women on cremation and burial options.
A personhood measure also is expected again. Republicans have tried to separate personhood from fetal homicide legislation, which became a political issue last session.
In the wake of a horrific incident in Longmont last March, in which a woman’s 7-month-old fetus was cut from her womb by another woman, the GOP pushed for legislation that would allow prosecutors to file a murder charge in such an incident. The woman survived but the fetus did not.
Critics, however, say the move would be tantamount to personhood.
The Longmont case is set for trial in February, thereby adding another layer of emotion to the debate while the Legislature is in session.
With the Legislature split between Republicans and Democrats, it’s unlikely that any controversial measures will make it through the process.
For Republican legislative leaders, the controversy demands a delicate balancing act, especially as some members pursue higher office in a presidential election year.
Some GOP members found themselves at the center of attention for controversial comments after the Colorado Springs incident. Most notably, Adams County Rep. JoAnn Windholz blamed Planned Parenthood for the shooting.
“The reality is that when we see certain things come through, the media tries to paint that all of us have the same type of thoughts ... That’s one of the things that I point out to my members,” House Republican Leader Brian DelGrosso of Loveland recently told The Durango Herald. “The reality is you’re going to paint the rest of the 30 other people besides yourself with the same issue.”
Controversy aside, Planned Parenthood has a wish list. One priority is allowing women to receive up to 12 months of contraception at any time. Currently, prescriptions are limited to three months. The organization also may seek legislation that would allow prosecutors to file enhanced charges if someone commits a crime against a health care provider with the intent of blocking the provider’s services.
“We thought that people would take a step back and recognize this for what it is ... domestic terrorism,” Alderman said. “People should not be afraid to go to work to provide health care ... It’s only heightened how vitriolic it’s gotten.”
pmarcus@durangoherald.com
