DENVER, CO – Majority Leader Daneya Esgar and Representative Meg Froelich, sponsors of Colorado’s Reproductive Health Equity Act, today released the following statements after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Statement from Majority Leader Daneya Esgar, D-Pueblo:
“This decision by five Republican-appointed Justices is a travesty of justice, a perversion of our Constitution, and a tragedy for the American people. In a ruling that restricts the rights of all Americans and opens the door to ban marriage equality and contraception, the Court has stripped millions of women of our bodily autonomy, reproductive freedom, and the rights that have been the law of the land for over fifty years. We knew overturning Roe vs. Wade was a real possibility, which is why I lead the charge on the Reproductive Health Equity Act to protect abortion because we trust people to make their own, private medical decisions. It was signed into law in Colorado, but our fight isn’t over. We must continue our efforts to protect access to abortion in Colorado and support the countless individuals who will have to travel to our state for an abortion or carry unsafe pregnancies to term.”
Statement from Representative Meg Froelich, D-Englewood:
“For decades, Republican politicians and secretive outside groups worked to put conservatives in power on the Supreme Court in order to overturn Roe v. Wade and ban abortion. With this decision, ultra right-wing politicians are now free to impose their own beliefs on everyone else, send abortion providers and patients to prison, and put bounties on anyone who helps them. In large parts of our country, women have become second-class citizens overnight and no longer have the right to determine their futures and make decisions that impact their livelihoods. People in these states will be forced to carry pregnancies to term, travel out of sate, or seek potentially unsafe abortions, a burden that will disproprtinately fall on women of color and lower-income Americans. This disgraceful decision imperils the lives of those seeking an abortion and threatens the health, economic security and freedom of millions of Americans.”
The Reproductive Health Equity Act updates Colorado’s laws to protect reproductive rights and codifies the fundamental right to choose to continue a pregnancy and give birth, or to have an abortion.
At least 519 laws to restrict abortion care have been introduced in 41 states so far this year according to the National Women’s Law Center.
Colorado remains committed to ensuring abortion remains safe, legal, and accessible. Recently, House Democrats defeated three Republican-led bills that would have jeopardized that right, including:
HB22-1079, which would have placed an unconstitutional ban on abortion in Colorado with no exceptions. The bill explicitly directed Colorado to disregard federal law and federal court rulings and would subject Colorado judges who support access to abortion to impeachment. In addition, it would have allowed a private right of action against abortion providers, and potentially patients too.
HB22-1047, which would have banned abortion in Colorado with no exceptions. The bill would have also criminalized miscarriages and would have subjected abortion providers to imprisonment.
HB22-1075, which would have established a registry to track and surveil abortion patients and providers. It also would have created a roadmap for abortion opponents to identify and further threaten abortion patients and providers.