1972, June, Pg. 37. Articles VI and VII: The Colorado Criminal Code.

• Author: by Carroll E. Multz

1 Colo.Law. 37

Colorado Lawyer

1972.

1972, June, Pg. 37.

Articles VI and VII: The Colorado Criminal Code

37Vol. 1, No. 8, Pg. 37Articles VI and VII: The Colorado Criminal Codeby Carroll E. MultzCarroll E. Multz, Colorado Springs, is Chief Trial Deputy for the Fourth Judicial District. He was one of the drafters of the new Colorado Criminal Code and is the author of numerous publications, including The Colorado Criminal Law Handbook, Criminal Law for Police, and Civil Law for Police. His article, the sixth in a series, examines Articles VI and VII of the Code.

Article VI

Offenses Involving the Family

Article VI widens the scope of offenses defined in three existing articles. The least innovative of the thirteen articles in the Code, Article VI covers the crimes of abortion, bigamy, incest, child abuse, and adultery.

AbortionCriminal Abortion. The new provision is a restatement of existing law and forbids a person from intentionally ending the pregnancy of a woman by any means other than "justified medical termination" or birth. To do so constitutes a class 4 felony. However, if the woman dies as a result of the abortion, it is a class 2 felony.

The Code defines "justified medical termination" as the intentional ending of the pregnancy of a woman either (1) at her request; or (2) if she is under the age of eighteen years, at her request and at the request of her parent or guardian; or (3) if she is married and living with her husband, at her request and at the request of her husband. The Code makes it clear that the abortion must be performed by a licensed physician using accepted medical procedures in a licensed hospital upon written certification by all the members of a special hospital board that one of the statutory grounds for an abortion exists.

Under the Code, an abortion is authorized where: (1) continuation of the pregnancy is likely to result in: (a) death of the woman; (b) serious permanent impairment of her physical health; (c) serious permanent impairment of her mental health; or (d) the birth of a child with grave and permanent physical deformity or mental retardation; or (2) less than sixteen weeks of gestation have passed and the pregnancy resulted from (a) rape or gross sexual imposition; (b) voluntary sexual intercourse where the female was unmarried and under the age of sixteen years at the time of the act; or (c) incest. As under existing law, before an abortion may be authorized, the district attorney of the judicial district in which the alleged rape or incest occurred must inform the hospital board in writing that there is probable

38cause to believe that the alleged violation occurred.Pretended Criminal Abortion. Identical to the present statute, the new section prohibits a person from intentionally pretending to end the real or apparent pregnancy of a woman by any means other than "justified medical termination" or birth. Pretended criminal abortion is a class 5 felony. If the woman dies as a result of the prohibited conduct, it is a class 2 felony.

Distributing Abortifacients. A restatement of present law, the new section prohibits the distribution of abortifacients (i.e., drugs, medicines or instruments used to induce abortions) by persons other than licensed physicians. Distributing abortifacients is a class 1 misdemeanor.

BigamyBigamy. The new section retains, in modified form, an existing prohibition against having two wives or two husbands at the same time. It expands existing...