Failing to see the forest for the trees

Sometimes we conservatives can fail to see the forest for the trees. There is a bill in the Colorado legislature to require pregnant women to be tested for HIV. If a woman is infected, her baby can be treated to prevent transfer of the virus. According to a story yesterday by RMN reporter Lynn Bartels,

"the risk of transferring the virus from mother to baby during pregnancy or delivery can be reduced from 25% to 2% with medication and preventive care."

My experience as a child protection social worker and foster parent helped me to realize that many of the babies that come into the child welfare system are born to mothers who have had many, many sex partners. Even if that is not the case, they may have had a long-term relationship with one individual who is infected with HIV.

So this bill is a no-brainer, right? Wrong! While it looks like it has enough bi-partisan support to pass, at least two conservative Republicans spoke out against it. One said, "poor behavior has its consequences." Another quoted from the Bible and said, "we are taking sins and making them to be legally okay, and that is wrong."

So, let me understand. You are pro-life, but you oppose this effort potentially to save the life of a child?