Colorado Democrats defeat fetal homicide bill

Colorado legislative Democrats have rejected a bill to make it a crime to kill a fetus, opting for a different approach they say won’t infringe on abortion rights.

A Democrat-controlled statehouse committee voted down Republican State Rep. Janak Joshi’s proposal Monday. His bill addressed crimes against an “unborn child.” Joshi said it was inspired by cases where drunken drivers and other criminals injured mothers and killed their unborn children but could not be prosecuted for the death due to a loophole in state law.

Democrats and an attorney for Planned Parenthood argued that the bill would effectively legalize fetuses and embryos and tabled it. Minutes later, Democrats introduced their own bill criminalize unlawfully terminating a pregnancy. That bill says it would not endow fetuses with legal rights or ban abortions.