By Sam Lewis

Dear Speaker McCluskie,

I didn’t ever expect for someone to say what you did. I knew it was certainly thought by many, but few have enough gall to actually let it fall from their lips. “A birth is more expensive than an abortion. Ultimately, we do achieve a cost savings because of the averted births that will not take place.” Appallingly, but not surprisingly, the bill you were defending, SB-183, passed both the House and Senate.

While as a woman, I am always grateful when a lawmaker takes a stand for my rights, abortion is not a woman’s right. My bodily autonomy ends as soon as that child’s begins. Under the guise of ‘women’s rights,’ you are robbing future women — babies in the womb — of the most fundamental right, and one enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. That is the right to life.

Yes, cost-effectiveness for families, especially low-income ones, is indeed to be desired. But to suggest that we should begin by “averting births” is Orwellian in its basest form. It cheapens human life, quite literally according to your phraseology, and suggests that murder saves money. It is destroying the future of humanity, one aborted child at a time. How about instead of averting births to save money for citizens, we begin by deflating our tremendously bloated bureaucracy?

Additionally, considering that “Planned Parenthood received $1.78 billion in taxpayer funds between fiscal years 2019 and 2021 — including $90 million in small-business loans during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new government report” (New York Post), abortion is well-funded. According to you, “the savings from averted births” outweigh simply supporting Coloradoans economically. As someone with three younger siblings, I wonder if you have siblings (or children). Would you voluntarily kill them if the many expenses associated with them became too much? I would hope not. If the thought of such horrifies you, good. It should be abhorrent to even consider.

Since you do indeed concede that abortion is an averted birth, and a birth brings forth new human life, it is no different than funding the deaths of 10-year-olds in underprivileged families so that they will save money. I would contend that all people would find this horrifying, including you. I challenge you to ask yourself, Why is the pre-born child any exception?

Also, with the allowance of taxpayer-funded abortions, you force the hand (or wallet, I should say) of those who believe that abortion is murder and should never be condoned. While you may say that abortion is a woman’s right, that does not mean that one should be obligated to pay for it through their tax dollars. Religious exemptions were offered for the COVID vaccine, but according to SB-183, only businesses are allowed exemptions. Individuals, like me, who believe in the sanctity of human life, will be required to pay taxes, knowing full well that some of those dollars will be going toward the death of babies in the womb.

You, as a lawmaker, are entitled to your beliefs. You are entitled to vote on bills as you see fit. You are, by virtue of the First Amendment, entitled to say what you wish. However, when your voting goes against what some of your constituency believe and forces them to violate their religious beliefs, you no longer fit the role of a public servant. To obligate constituents to pay for abortions, which they may disagree with, is to restrict their constitutional rights that give them the freedom of religion. As I write this, I am reminded of my friends who are some of your constituents — friends who do not believe in abortion but a portion of whose paychecks will now be going toward the taxpayer funding of it. In SB-183, the lawmakers of Colorado have surpassed their boundaries.

To vote in favor of this bill is to force taxpayers to pay for something in which many do not believe. I am certainly disappointed that you voted for this bill, but I am horrified that you would encourage the legislature of Colorado to “save” money by averting births. Your only priority, with these words, seems to be to destroy the future of Colorado with a dystopian plan that murders the innocent. It is a deranged storyline that could be directly from science fiction.

As a result of my Christian beliefs, I understand that life is intrinsically sacred and should be preserved, regardless of personal disadvantages or costs. It should never be cheapened. Unfortunately, it seems that you do not believe so, and I pray that your heart will be changed.