Weld County Commissioner Lori Saine tried — and failed — to pass a proclamation declaring Weld a ‘pro-life sanctuary’ county

By Kelly Ragan

Weld County Commissioner and Congressional District 8 candidate Lori Saine tried – and failed – to pass a proclamation to declare Weld a “pro-life sanctuary” county. 

She introduced the proclamation Wednesday in response to the state’s passage of the Reproductive Health Equity Act. 

Gov. Jared Polis signed the bill into law April 4, cementing the right to abortion access in Colorado. The law also states a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent rights. While the newly passed law doesn’t change how Colorado already handled abortion, it serves to solidify the law in the event the Supreme Court overturns or weakens its Roe v. Wade decision.

“I don’t think anyone in this room would be against the statement that since God created life, that human life has inherent value,” Saine said. 

But the proclamation failed as commissioners Mike Freeman, Scott James and Steve Moreno abstained from voting on the resolution.

Perry Buck was the second yes vote. 

The vote on the resolution was technically 2-0, though a resolution needs three yes votes to pass.

The resolution, even if it had passed, would have no legal effect, according to Weld County attorney Bruce Barker. 

“There’s this notion of becoming a sanctuary county, but there is no legal precedent or effect,” Barker said. 

James said that while he agreed with the sentiment of the proclamation, he couldn’t vote to pass the proclamation. 

“Resolutions are the instrument of action in this county. We take action on (voters’) behalf using resolutions,” James said. “There is no action in this resolution. It does nothing. We’re using the county’s primary instrument of action to take inaction. I find it hypocritical.” 

Several folks participated in the public comment portion of the meeting, most from Weld and some from Larimer County. All urged commissioners to pass the resolution, whether or not it was legal to do so. 

Steven Grant, pastor at Destiny Christian Center, was among those who spoke Wednesday.

“As I look into your faces, I want to know – are you going to side with (Gov. Jared) Polis? Are you going to side with tyranny? Or are you going to take a stand? Because there is no middle ground here.” 

“I’m calling on you guys for a total abortion ban in this county,” said Andrew Larue, of Fort Collins. “The county attorney has said you can’t legally do that. I can only speak for myself, I can’t really speak for other people — but I don’t really care about legality here.” 

Larue went on to ask commissioners not to cooperate with Planned Parenthood or to try seceding and forming their own county or state. 

“To ask me to move into a space where this county has no authority is asking me to break my oath to uphold the law,” James said. “I can’t do that.” 

Park County Commissioner Amy Mitchell also attempted to introduce a similar proclamation this month, according to a report by the Colorado Times Recorder. 

Her attempt also failed when Park County commissioners voted 2-1 to remove the discussion from the agenda. 

*Editor’s note: This story has been updated. A previous version incorrectly categorized votes. Three county commissioners abstained from voting. They did not vote no.