On the June 17 broadcast of KNUS 710 AM's Backbone Radio hosted by John Andrews, guest Jim Pfaff -- president of the Focus on the Family-backed lobbying organization Colorado Family Action -- baselessly asserted that by restoring funding to Planned Parenthood, Gov. Bill Ritter (D) is “promoting ... the killing of unborn babies.” Pfaff also mischaracterized House Bill 1292, which sets scientific standards for sex education in most state school districts, in claiming that Ritter is “encouraging the behavior that leads to the need for abortion by encouraging sex education.”

From the June 17 broadcast of KNUS 710 AM's Backbone Radio:

PFAFF: I think it's important to note that at the same time that the, the homosexual activists are getting exactly what they're wanting out of this legislature and Governor Ritter's signing it, Planned Parenthood is getting what they want at the same time as well. Not only is Governor Ritter says that he'll reinstitute funding for Planned Parenthood, which -- one of the great things that Bill Owens with the, at the urging of [former state Health Director] Jane Norton, took away from Colorado because the constitution says that money cannot go to organizations that support abortion. But we also had House Bill 1292, which is now changed and taken local control away from decisions on sex education and said it must be condom instruction, it must be comprehensive sex education, which is essentially what Planned Parenthood promotes. So, and the same lobbyist that lobbies for many of these homosexual issues, Pat Steadman, is also the lobbyist for Planned Parenthood in this state, and they're just going right down the line. We had hoped that Governor Ritter would be a [Pennsylvania Democratic U.S. Sen.] Bob Casey -- Catholic man who has expressed his belief in the sanctity of human life -- but he's promoting not only the killing of unborn babies through funding Planned Parenthood, albeit under -- in, in an indirect fashion -- but he's also encouraging the behavior that leads to the need for abortion by encouraging sex education, very similar to what -- the logical conclusion of which is what we heard at Boulder High School.

Pfaff asserted that Colorado's constitution “says that money cannot go to organizations that support abortion.” In fact, the constitution states, “No public funds shall be used by the State of Colorado ... to pay or otherwise reimburse, either directly or indirectly, any person, agency or facility for the performance of any induced abortion,” except for services necessary to preserve the life of a pregnant woman or her unborn child.

But in claiming that Ritter is “promoting ... the killing of unborn babies” by restoring funding to Planned Parenthood, Pfaff omitted the fact that in 1999, in an attempt to remain eligible for state funds, Planned Parenthood split into two groups, only one of which performs abortions. As a December 15, 2001, Rocky Mountain News article (accessed through the Nexis database) reported, "[I]n 1999 ... Gov. Bill Owens' administration announced that no more state funds would be awarded to Planned Parenthood because of a constitutional ban on tax dollars for abortions." The News further reported:

Two years ago, in order to avoid the loss of state funds, Planned Parenthood formed two groups -- one of them, Planned Parenthood Services Corp., performs abortions.

That satisfied the state at the time, and it approved $320,000 in family-planning funds to provide low-income women with birth control and cancer-screening help across the state.

However, in 2001, a controversial “private audit led the Health Department to cut all of Planned Parenthood's funding because of its financial ties to abortions,” according to a December 18, 2001, Denver Post article (accessed through Nexis). The Post article reported that “officials from Planned Parenthood and other groups that support keeping abortion legal said they believe state Health Director Jane Norton [later lieutenant governor under Owens] and other top health officials hired their own auditor because state auditors may not have come to the same conclusions."

With regard to Ritter's reinstatement of public funding to family-planning organizations, the Post reported on January 16 that "[o]nly family-planning groups that show they can segregate state funds from money spent on abortions would be eligible, [Ritter spokesman Evan] Dreyer said." The article also noted that Dreyer “emphasized Ritter is opposed to funding abortions” and quoted Dreyer as saying, “The governor believes strongly it is good public policy to attempt to reduce unintended pregnancies, and that is his goal.”

A March 17 News article similarly contradicted Pfaff's assertion that Ritter is promoting the “killing of unborn babies” by restoring the funding. It reported that "[a]t issue is about $400,000 Ritter insists will be used to prevent unwanted pregnancies, not end them."

Pfaff also mischaracterized HB 1292, which sets standards for sex education in most state school districts, in claiming that Ritter is “encouraging the behavior that leads to the need for abortion by encouraging sex education.” In fact, the bill, which Ritter signed into law on May 14, mandates that schools “emphasize abstinence and teach that sexual abstinence is the only certain way and the most effective way to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and infections.” Furthermore, according to a May 14 press release announcing Ritter's signing of HB 1292:

“Preventing unintended pregnancies, especially among teenagers, is important,” Gov. Ritter said. “If a school district and a student so choose, this legislation allows educators to help students develop skills that will enable them to make responsible and healthy decisions, including the teaching of abstinence. This legislation also ensures local school districts have control over what programs they choose to offer to their students.”

Moreover, contrary to Pfaff's dubious suggestion that the law has “taken local control away from decisions on sex education,” Colorado Media Matters has noted (here, here, and here) that although it requires public schools to maintain human sexuality curriculum standards based on scientific research, HB 1292 explicitly exempts schools that currently receive federal funds for abstinence-only education.

This is not the first time Pfaff has dispensed misinformation in the media to further Colorado Family Action's political agenda. As Colorado Media Matters noted, in a March 10 report by Colorado Springs Fox affiliate KXRM, Pfaff baselessly proposed that sexual orientation is a chosen behavior for gay men and lesbians, omitting the fact that the American Psychological Association (APA) has stated conclusively that “human beings can not choose to be either gay or straight.”