After more than 10 hours of debate yesterday, House Bill 2, the sweeping and controversial abortion restrictions bill, was finally passed this morning, on a 96-49 vote, moving the bill one step closer to becoming law.*
Democratic lawmakers offered more than two dozen amendments to try to mitigate the effects of the bill, which opponents say is unconstitutional on its face.
Those efforts were uniformly rebuffed by HB 2 author, Rep. Jodie Laubenberg, R-Parker, who insisted that her bill is “carefully written.”
That remains to be seen – and undoubtedly will be a question the courts will ultimately decide.
*The original post contained an incorrect vote count.
This article appears in July 5 • 2013.