Under a spectacular dome meant as a towering symbol of freedom, today, the freedom of some — particularly women and the child in the womb — is under question.
Dozens of representatives from Pregnancy Resource Centers (PRCs) all over the state convened March 21 in the early morning at the Colorado State Capitol to express their discontent with a slate of bills dubbed “RHEA 2.0,” referencing last year’s Reproductive Health and Equity Act, one of the most radical in the world at the time.
During the first Pregnancy Resource Center Day in Colorado, PRC staff and volunteers were present to give witness to life, provide educational materials and data and to share their testimonies from the “frontlines,” where they selflessly serve women, men and families, day in and day out. Donned in pink and blue, the traditional colors for baby girls and boys, the representatives from PRCs around the state sat in the gallery during House and Senate legislative sessions, their presence a testimony to the care and compassion they offer those seeking their services.
“We’re here to represent our community with the [Senate] Bill [23-]190 that they’re discussing that has the potential to have a major impact on what we do for the people that we serve,” said Michelle Pedigo of Lighthouse Pregnancy Resource Center in Silver Cliff, a two-and-a-half-hour drive from the Capitol.
“We’re a very, very small rural community,” Pedigo continued, speaking of the region she serves near the southern border of Colorado. “The reality is our pregnancy center supports our community and the surrounding areas by doing all of the things that we do serving families, women, men — everything from pregnancy tests to clothes, to classes to support, to just being there to come and talk to us. But it is a huge resource that is being well-used by our small rural community.”
Dozens from all over Colorado made the trek to the State Capitol on Tuesday, some driving more than 2 hours, some bringing their young children, all to advocate for the life-affirming healthcare offered at Pregnancy Resource Centers all over the state. (Photo by André Escaleira, Jr.)
The stakes are high for clinics such as hers, Pedigo shared. “There would just be so many people that didn’t have resources. In our small rural community, there are many, many people who don’t travel, who aren’t able to travel.” Pedigo says that’s the community they serve.
The way these bills would impact the healthcare of rural communities is critical, and the situation is no less dire in the Denver metro area.
“Right now, what’s happening in the State of Colorado is historic in a sense,” reflected Lauren Castillo, Director of Mission Advancement at Bella Health + Wellness in Englewood. “The State of Colorado and its representatives has pushed forward a package of three different bills, and these bills are egregiously wrong. It’s really devastating to see our culture move this far in what these bills are going to do. They’re really placing unconstitutional limitations on the advertising abilities that our pro-life medical clinics and our pregnancy resource centers are able to do to reach potential patients who need their care, who want their care, who decide and make a choice. They want to receive care at those clinics. Not only that, but they’re placing a ban or an attempted ban on abortion pill reversal, which we know saves lives, which we know is safe and effective for mothers who choose it and safe and effective for the babies who are able to be born.”
The work of these PRCs is first and foremost to affirm life and empower the women who come through their doors, oftentimes desperate and scared, to see that they have plenty of other options and abortion isn’t their only choice. Most offer moms and their babies comprehensive care, even after birth, and provide access to supplies, support and necessary continued healthcare to accompany these families along this new — and beautiful — stage in their journeys.
“At Marisol Health and through all of Catholic Charities, our goal is to affirm life,” shared Sara Lugo, Program Director at Marisol Health. “From conception to natural death, we have 76 locations of serving individuals and families in our community. So [SB 23-190] would really just take that choice away from those families. Marisol Health provides life affirming medical care and social services, and we really want to be able to provide that network of support so these families can say ‘yes’ affirmatively.”
Part of a group of generous givers accused by proponents of “RHEA 2.0” of “manipulative marketing,” Tamra Axworthy of A Caring Pregnancy Center in Pueblo — just shy of a two-hour drive from the Capitol — couldn’t disagree with the characterization more. Far from manipulation, Axworthy’s clinic approaches the women, men and families experiencing unwanted, crisis or otherwise difficult pregnancies who enter their doors with the utmost compassion and understanding.
Tamra Axworthy (second from right) of A Caring Pregnancy Center in Pueblo sits in the gallery during a House legislative session as part of a group of dozens representing Pregnancy Resource Centers across the state as a new slate of bills dubbed “RHEA 2.0” is considered in the General Assembly. (Photo by André Escaleira, Jr)
“First off, we have to go into the room with an open heart and an open mind and allow God to let us see them through his eyes, because we don’t know their story,” Axworthy said. “But that is the beauty of what we do in the pregnancy center. We’re not a 15-minute walk-through clinic. We have time to sit down and let her share and go through her challenges. And all the while, we’re listening for those cues, what those barriers might be. It’s completely client-led. She is the one coming to those responses on her own just through the course of conversation. And it’s so cool to see how God and the Spirit just moves in those rooms and allows us those opportunities to share.”
Opponents of this slate of pro-abortion legislation are encouraged to contact their senators and representatives, advocate in their own families and communities and, of course, pray.
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