Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

Home › News › Local News

Anti-abortion camp splits

Colo. group opposes measure that fails to ban procedure

Tillie Fong, Rocky Mountain News

Published December 5, 2006 at midnight

Text size  

More Local News

More stories »

Colorado Right to Life is splitting from other Right to Life groups in opposing a congressional bill that would require women to be notified that their unborn baby would experience pain during an abortion.

"This law is a bad law," said Brian Rohrbough, the newly elected president of Colorado Right to Life and the father of Columbine victim Daniel Rohrbough.

"It's good to notify women that children are tortured during the abortion, but it's bad to pass a law that allows abortions to go on."

But Steven Ertelt, president of Wyoming Right to Life, says Rohrbough and Colorado Right to Life are out of step with the national Right to Life group and other anti-abortion organizations.

"His (Rohrbough's) comments come in contrast to state and national pro- life groups, so his is the lone voice in the wilderness," said Ertelt.

"The rest of the pro-life community is moving in one direction and he's moving in another."

Ertelt and Rohrbough will debate the issue at 3 p.m. today on the Bob Enyart Live show on KLTT 670 AM.

At issue is House Bill 6099, which was introduced by U.S. Rep. Christopher Smith, R-New Jersey, in September.

HB 6099 is expected to go to a floor vote in the House this Wednesday.

Dubbed the "Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act," HB 6099 would require that an abortion provider give information to a woman seeking an abortion that an unborn child as young as 20 weeks can feel pain, and the mother can choose to have anesthesia administered to the unborn child before the abortion.

Rohrbough issued a news release Monday challenging the "wisdom" of the national Right to Life position supporting the measure and saying that the bill violates God's law.

". . . Any legislation that violates God's law, 'Thou shalt not murder,' should never be proposed nor passed by a civilized society," Rohrbough said in the release.

Ertelt responded to Rohrbough's release Monday with one of his own.

"I'm very disappointed that Mr. Rorhbough would use his position as head of a statewide pro-life organization to oppose pro-life legislation supported by virtually every pro-life group in the nation - including National Right to Life and its 49 other state affiliates," he wrote.

"This measure conforms to the longstanding pro-life goals of reducing the number of abortions as much as possible until the day comes that unborn children are protected by law," he said.

Rohrbough also said he doesn't believe he is splitting the pro-life movement with his position, and that it is the pro-life community that isn't being true to its principles.

"The pro-life movement has to either stand on the foundation of doing the right thing and not do evil, or the pro-life movement has no value," he said.