Historically, reproductive rights have been under attack and suppressed. In the past four years, Americans have fought hard for the right to abortions, as people’s rights to their own bodies are being undermined at every turn.
In Colorado, on the ballot this November is Proposition 115 (formerly Initiative 120). Proposition 115 would ban abortions after 22 weeks of pregnancy without exception. This backdoor ban is dangerous—it would make abortion illegal in the case of rape, incest or a lethal fetal diagnosis.
To put this plainly: if a pregnant person finds out their baby will not live to the due date but they are past 22 weeks, an abortion would be illegal. This would force them to carry their deceased baby to term. If a person with a uterus is raped and discovers past 22 weeks that this resulted in a pregnancy, they would be forced to carry that baby to term.
Jack Teter, the political director for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains said, “This proposal would force a [person] who learns later in [their] pregnancy that [their] pregnancy is developing with no brain or no lungs to pack a suitcase and get on an airplane […] to travel to another state that doesn’t criminalize access to healthcare.”
This ban would also disproportionately affect poor communities who already face obstacles obtaining basic healthcare. Additionally, a ban like this makes it increasingly difficult for transgender and non-binary people to seek out abortion care. People whose bodies can get pregnant and identify as transgender or nonbinary already face medical discrimination, making it hard for them to obtain basic healthcare. Colorado has voted no on three abortion bans in the past 12 years; this is yet another attack on the bodily autonomy of people with uteruses.
According to the statute, “any person who intentionally or recklessly performs or attempts to perform an abortion after 22 weeks gestation would be guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $500 to $5,000 […] the Colorado Medical Board must suspend the professional license of a physician for at least three years who is found to have violated the law.”
This ban is nonsensical—only one percent of all abortion care includes late-term pregnancy abortions. There are simpler and less invasive steps that can be taken to reduce abortions in Colorado.
Rather than outlawing a choice that should be made solely between a person and their doctor, the state should focus its energy on promoting knowledge about reproductive health and removing barriers to obtaining contraceptives or family planning. It has been shown that unwanted pregnancy rates drop significantly when there is increased access to contraceptives and methods of birth control, comprehensive sexual health education and unrestricted access to healthcare and family planning services.
Trish Zornio, a 2020 Colorado U.S. Senate candidate, backed this up by explaining, “In Colorado, the success of this approach was illustrated when access to IUDs prompted a 64 percent drop in teen abortion rates and an estimated $70 million saved in associated health care costs. The second strategy [abortion] applies when preventative measures are no longer possible.”
The bottom line is that we should be funding programs to increase awareness and knowledge on reproductive rights. We must support a person’s or family’s choice as to when and under what circumstances they want to start or add to their family. A person has a right to make these deeply personal choices about their bodies without discrimination, fear and barriers.
