The new proposal comes after Colorado voters overwhelmingly rejected abortion restrictions in the 2020 elections.
Colorado Republicans are supporting new legislation that would force patients who have had an abortion to disclose an in-depth amount of personal information. Doctors and nurses who fail to interrogate their patients for the data would be considered in violation of the law.
Colorado State Rep. Stephanie Luck (R) recently introduced HB21-1183, "Induced Termination Of Pregnancy State Registrar," along with several Republican co-sponsors. The bill is currently under consideration by the Legislature.
The bill would require that patients who receive an abortion to be interrogated by health care providers required to collect a laundry list of information or be penalized with a violation of the state's medical laws for "unprofessional conduct."
If enacted, patients would have to have the following information recorded if they obtain an abortion: Age, race and ethnicity, marital status, education status, what abortion procedures they previously had done, number of children they've had, a clinical estimate of the "age of the fetus" at time of termination.
They would also be asked why they chose to have an abortion and would have to divulge if they chose to do so because of a "failure" of family planning, if it interfered with their education or career, and if the abortion came about because of financial insecurity or the size of their existing family.
Patients would be required to say if the abortion occurred despite the opposition of a partner, if it involved mental health issues, or if the procedure came about due to rape or incest.
Patients would also be forced to give a "reason for the delay" if the procedure occurred past 22 weeks of pregnancy, they would have to reveal the cost of the abortion, and also divulge the source of funding for the abortion and what type of abortion they had.
Aaron Lazorwitz, a Denver-area ob-gyn, told the Colorado Times Recorder, "HB21-1183 would mandate state surveillance of additional data that is neither necessary for public health nor the patient's care."
Lazorwitz said the proposed law Is "an invasion of privacy" for his patients and considers it a "professional threat to me as a doctor."
Anti-abortion activists in the state have expressed support for the legislation, highlighting the view that obtaining the extensive list of private data would aid the campaign to end all abortion rights.
In an op-ed posted on the website of the Archdiocese of Denver, Dr. Tom Perille of Democrats for Life of Colorado encouraged people to reach out to legislators and "encourage them to vote YES" on the legislation.
"Together we can guarantee more transparency in our state and pull back the curtain on the ugly truth about abortion," he wrote.
The push for the new legislation comes after Colorado voters in 2020 resoundingly rejected a ballot initiative that would have banned abortions after 22 weeks of pregnancy by a margin of 59% to 41%.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
