Colorado Right to Life
Encyclopedia
Colorado Right to Life is an American
pro-life
advocacy group
based in the state of Colorado
. CRTL believes all human beings not convicted of a capital crime have a right to life
from the moment of fertilization until natural death. The organization is opposed to abortion
and euthanasia
, as well as any kind of birth control
or embryonic stem cell
research that causes the death of an embryo.
activists — including Mary Rita Urbish, Charles Onofrio, and John Archibold — three months after Colorado became the first state to pass a law which legalized abortion in cases of rape
, incest
, or danger to maternal life.
CRTL was disaffiliated by the National Right to Life Committee
in 2007, partly as a result of disagreement between the positions taken by the two organizations, and partly over an open letter
which CRTL and several other major pro-life organizations signed. The open letter, paid for by independent donors, asked Focus on the Family
chairman James Dobson
to retract his statement that the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in favor of upholding the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act
in the case Gonzales v. Carhart
was a positive outcome for the pro-life movement. The letter claimed that the decision actually affirmed widespread abortion rights, detailed methods which could be used to perform late-term abortion
s legally, and indicated that all but two of the Supreme court justices currently serving (Scalia
and Thomas
) supported Roe v. Wade
. Carrie Gordon Earll, a Focus on the Family spokesperson, responded by referring to Colorado Right to Life as a "rogue and divisive group", and the National Right to Life Committee selected Colorado Citizens for Life/Protecting Life Now to replace CRTL as its state affiliate for Colorado.
Colorado Right to Life continues to operate as an independent entity, because its existence predates the National Right to Life Committee, and CRTL therefore owns its name and is not required to be an affiliate of any national organization.
Brian Rohrbough
is the former president of Colorado Right to Life, and co-founder of American Right to Life, a pro-life organization meant to rival National Right to Life for leadership of the pro-life movement. Leslie Hanks has served as its vice president and spokesperson for several years.
Because CRTL advocates the standard of a right to life "from fertilization to natural death", it also opposes euthanasia, arguing that the deliberate taking of one innocent life undermines the value of life as a whole.
CRTL objects to embryonic stem cell research, suggesting that research conducted on adult stem cells and cord blood
is preferable, as neither relies upon the destruction of human embryo
s.
CRTL is on record as opposing Susan G. Komen for the Cure
because the foundation does not recognize the abortion – breast cancer hypothesis and because they donate money to Planned Parenthood. Along with former Komen Foundation medical analyst Eve Silver, who is now a pro-life activist, CRTL met with the Komen board in September 2006 to discuss the abortion-breast cancer issue.
to mark the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. They also hold a yearly fundraising dinner known as the "Light on Life Banquet".
In April 2007, CRTL organized an event called "40 Years in the Wilderness", at which Alan Keyes
, Judie Brown of the American Life League
, and Flip Benham
of Operation Save America gathered to collectively back a no-exceptions position on abortion and euthanasia. Another goal of the meeting was to bring attention to the Gonzales v. Carhart ruling for the same reasons outlined in the open letter to James Dobson.
CRTL actively pickets abortion clinic
s and has launched a campaign intended to halt construction of a new Planned Parenthood
facility in Denver.
Colorado Right to Life was also the leading force behind 2008's Colorado Amendment 48 (2008)
, otherwise known as the "Personhood Amendment" (basically a statewide Human Life Amendment), and is trying to get another Personhood Amendment on the ballot for 2010, in cooperation with Personhood USA.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
advocacy group
Advocacy group
Advocacy groups use various forms of advocacy to influence public opinion and/or policy; they have played and continue to play an important part in the development of political and social systems...
based in the state of Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. CRTL believes all human beings not convicted of a capital crime have a right to life
Right to life
Right to life is a phrase that describes the belief that a human being has an essential right to live, particularly that a human being has the right not to be killed by another human being...
from the moment of fertilization until natural death. The organization is opposed to abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
and euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
, as well as any kind of birth control
Birth control
Birth control is an umbrella term for several techniques and methods used to prevent fertilization or to interrupt pregnancy at various stages. Birth control techniques and methods include contraception , contragestion and abortion...
or embryonic stem cell
Embryonic stem cell
Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst, an early-stage embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist of 50–150 cells...
research that causes the death of an embryo.
Background
Colorado Right to Life was founded in July 1967 by a coalition of pro-lifePro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
activists — including Mary Rita Urbish, Charles Onofrio, and John Archibold — three months after Colorado became the first state to pass a law which legalized abortion in cases of rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
, or danger to maternal life.
CRTL was disaffiliated by the National Right to Life Committee
National Right to Life Committee
The National Right to Life Committee is the oldest and largest pro-life organization in the United States with affiliates in all 50 states and over 3,000 local chapters nationwide. The group works through legislation and education to work against abortion, infanticide, euthanasia and assisted...
in 2007, partly as a result of disagreement between the positions taken by the two organizations, and partly over an open letter
Open letter
An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally....
which CRTL and several other major pro-life organizations signed. The open letter, paid for by independent donors, asked Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family is an American evangelical Christian tax-exempt non-profit organization founded in 1977 by psychologist James Dobson, and is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Focus on the Family is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations that rose to prominence in the 1980s...
chairman James Dobson
James Dobson
James Clayton "Jim" Dobson, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder in 1977 of Focus on the Family , which he led until 2003. In the 1980s he was ranked as one of the most influential spokesman for conservative social positions in American public life...
to retract his statement that the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in favor of upholding the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act
The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 is a United States law prohibiting a form of late-term abortion that the Act calls "partial-birth abortion", often referred to in medical literature as intact dilation and extraction...
in the case Gonzales v. Carhart
Gonzales v. Carhart
Gonzales v. Carhart, 550 U.S. 124 , is a United States Supreme Court case that upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. The case reached the high court after U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appealed a ruling of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in favor of...
was a positive outcome for the pro-life movement. The letter claimed that the decision actually affirmed widespread abortion rights, detailed methods which could be used to perform late-term abortion
Late-term abortion
Late termination of pregnancy or late-term abortions are abortions which are performed during a later stage of pregnancy. Late-term abortions are more controversial than abortion in general because the fetus is more developed and sometimes viable.-Definition:A late-term abortion often refers to an...
s legally, and indicated that all but two of the Supreme court justices currently serving (Scalia
Antonin Scalia
Antonin Gregory Scalia is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. As the longest-serving justice on the Court, Scalia is the Senior Associate Justice...
and Thomas
Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Succeeding Thurgood Marshall, Thomas is the second African American to serve on the Court....
) supported Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade, , was a controversial landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. The Court decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion,...
. Carrie Gordon Earll, a Focus on the Family spokesperson, responded by referring to Colorado Right to Life as a "rogue and divisive group", and the National Right to Life Committee selected Colorado Citizens for Life/Protecting Life Now to replace CRTL as its state affiliate for Colorado.
Colorado Right to Life continues to operate as an independent entity, because its existence predates the National Right to Life Committee, and CRTL therefore owns its name and is not required to be an affiliate of any national organization.
Brian Rohrbough
Brian Rohrbough
Brian Rohrbough was the 2008 vice presidential candidate of America's Independent Party in the 2008 United States presidential election, running on the ticket with presidential candidate Alan Keyes.-Career:...
is the former president of Colorado Right to Life, and co-founder of American Right to Life, a pro-life organization meant to rival National Right to Life for leadership of the pro-life movement. Leslie Hanks has served as its vice president and spokesperson for several years.
Positions
Colorado Right to Life does not believe that an abortion should be permitted under any circumstances, including rape or incest, and this has resulted in disagreement between CRTL and other pro-life organizations like the National Right to Life Committee. CRTL has appealed to these groups not to support exceptions to the prohibition of abortion and not to advocate parental involvement legislation. CRTL maintains that any law under which an abortion would be allowed condones the procedure and is therefore unacceptable.Because CRTL advocates the standard of a right to life "from fertilization to natural death", it also opposes euthanasia, arguing that the deliberate taking of one innocent life undermines the value of life as a whole.
CRTL objects to embryonic stem cell research, suggesting that research conducted on adult stem cells and cord blood
Cord blood
Umbilical cord blood is blood that remains in the placenta and in the attached umbilical cord after childbirth. Cord blood is collected because it contains stem cells which can be used to treat hematopoietic and genetic disorders.-Collection:...
is preferable, as neither relies upon the destruction of human embryo
Embryo
An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...
s.
CRTL is on record as opposing Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Susan G. Komen for the Cure, formerly known as The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, often referred to as simply Komen, is the most widely known, largest and best-funded breast cancer organization in the US....
because the foundation does not recognize the abortion – breast cancer hypothesis and because they donate money to Planned Parenthood. Along with former Komen Foundation medical analyst Eve Silver, who is now a pro-life activist, CRTL met with the Komen board in September 2006 to discuss the abortion-breast cancer issue.
Activism
Colorado Right to Life holds an annual event called the "March for Life" at the Colorado State CapitolColorado State Capitol
The Colorado State Capitol Building, located at 200 East Colfax Avenue in Denver, Colorado, is the home of the Colorado General Assembly and the offices of the Governor of Colorado and Lieutenant Governor of Colorado. The building is intentionally reminiscent of the United States Capitol. Designed...
to mark the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. They also hold a yearly fundraising dinner known as the "Light on Life Banquet".
In April 2007, CRTL organized an event called "40 Years in the Wilderness", at which Alan Keyes
Alan Keyes
Alan Lee Keyes is an American conservative political activist, author, former diplomat, and perennial candidate for public office. A doctoral graduate of Harvard University, Keyes began his diplomatic career in the U.S...
, Judie Brown of the American Life League
American Life League
The American Life League is one of the largest pro-life organizations in the United States. The organization opposes abortion under any circumstance, contraception, embryonic stem cell research, and euthanasia...
, and Flip Benham
Flip Benham
Philip "Flip" Benham is an evangelical Christian minister and the national leader of Concord, North Carolina-based Operation Save America.-Pro-life ministry:...
of Operation Save America gathered to collectively back a no-exceptions position on abortion and euthanasia. Another goal of the meeting was to bring attention to the Gonzales v. Carhart ruling for the same reasons outlined in the open letter to James Dobson.
CRTL actively pickets abortion clinic
Abortion clinic
An abortion clinic is a medical facility that primarily performs or specializes in abortions. Such clinics may be public medical centers or private medical practices.-Canada:*There were 197 abortion providers in Canada in 2001....
s and has launched a campaign intended to halt construction of a new Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood Federation of America , commonly shortened to Planned Parenthood, is the U.S. affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and one of its larger members. PPFA is a non-profit organization providing reproductive health and maternal and child health services. The...
facility in Denver.
Colorado Right to Life was also the leading force behind 2008's Colorado Amendment 48 (2008)
Colorado Amendment 48 (2008)
Colorado Amendment 48 is a proposed initiative to amend the definition of a person to "any human being from the moment of fertilization."The initiative was proposed jointly by Kristine Burton and Michael Burton of Colorado for Equal Rights....
, otherwise known as the "Personhood Amendment" (basically a statewide Human Life Amendment), and is trying to get another Personhood Amendment on the ballot for 2010, in cooperation with Personhood USA.