CPR is publishing a series of articles about the top issues for Colorado voters, drawn from the Voter Voices survey, and how the offices and questions on their ballot relate to them. Find all of the stories linked in our voter guide.
By Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, Denver Post
Abortion is a hot topic in the November election at multiple levels — but particularly on the Colorado ballot, which features Amendment 79 — a proposed change that would enshrine the state’s abortion protections in the Colorado constitution.
The rules on abortion access are currently in the hands of individual states following the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, which, for decades, had established a baseline right to abortion nationwide. Our ongoing Voter Voices survey, in partnership with CoLab and other Colorado media outlets, shows that abortion ranks in the top five issues among the thousands of voters who responded, with self-identified liberals especially concerned about potential restrictions.
Since the Supreme Court’s ruling, 13 states — mostly in the American South — have either prohibited abortions or had preexisting trigger bans take effect. Those are among 21 states that The New York Times counts as either banning the procedure or restricting it earlier in pregnancy than Roe v. Wade had allowed.
Colorado, where abortion services are available at any stage of pregnancy, is among 29 states where abortion is broadly legal — either under law or because bans have been blocked by the courts — though some states have restrictions later in pregnancy, The Times says.
American attitudes lean in support of abortion access, with 63 percent saying this year that it should be legal in all or most cases, according to the Pew Research Center. It’s not a gendered issue, either: Both men and women tend to support abortion access at around the same level — 61 percent and 64 percent, respectively.
Religion serves as a dividing line on the topic: 73 percent of white evangelical Protestants say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, while the majority of white non-evangelical Protestants, Black Protestants and Catholics all say it should be legal in all or most cases, Pew reports. The highest level of support for legal abortion was 86 percent among the religiously unaffiliated.
Stephanie Lang, a liberal who lives in Denver, was among voters who ranked abortion as their most important issue in her response to the Voter Voices survey.
Lang is at an age where she’s considering pregnancy, and she says having access to abortion care means there’s a plan in place for her in case an unexpected medical emergency arises.
“Going into this type of decision, there’s a lot of unknowns,” she said in an interview.
Lang also contends that protecting abortion access in Colorado would benefit the broader region. “If Colorado has this, it’s going to be a safe haven for the states around us,” she said.
If abortion is a top concern for you — no matter your view on it — here is where your vote has the most impact.
The presidential race
The U.S. president can have an impact on abortion by proposing legislation, signing or vetoing bills, and adopting administrative regulations. The chief executive also appoints judges and justices who will interpret laws on the matter. This year’s major-party presidential candidates differ widely on abortion.
Former President Donald Trump, again the Republican nominee, has had shifting positions in his abortion stance. As president, he nominated three of the five Supreme Court justices who struck down Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, and he’s claimed responsibility for its reversal. He contends that abortion should be an issue left to the states.
“It’s the vote of the people now; it’s not tied up in the federal government,” Trump said during the Sept. 10 presidential debate. “I did a great service in doing it.”
Trump recently said he would veto a nationwide ban on abortion and has said he believes in exceptions, including for rape, incest and situations threatening the lives of pregnant mothers. But he has also favored restrictions: In his home state of Florida, he has said publicly that he will vote no on a ballot measure this fall that would overturn that state’s six-week abortion ban.
His wife, former First Lady Melania Trump, recently announced her support for abortion access. “Without a doubt, there is no room for compromise when it comes to this essential right that all women possess from birth: individual freedom,” she said in an Oct. 3 video.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, has also vowed to block a federal abortion ban. And as part of her platform, she has committed to signing any congressional legislation that reenacts nationwide protections for abortion access.
“You don’t have to abandon your faith or deeply held beliefs to agree: The government shouldn’t be telling (a woman) what to do,” Harris said in an Oct. 6 podcast interview.
Harris says the issue also encompasses access to in vitro fertilization treatments, contraception and other methods of reproductive health care.
The congressional races
Congress, along with the president, has more power in the post-Roe era to enact nationwide protections as well as restrictions on abortion, depending on whether the House and Senate can reach agreement — and the president signs the resulting legislation. Congress can also decide whether to keep, amend or repeal the Hyde Amendment, which bans the use of federal funding to pay for abortions in most cases.
Candidates vying to represent Colorado in Congress in the November election are split along party lines over the abortion issue, with all Democrats running in the state’s eight congressional districts voicing support for restoring nationwide access by passing legislation. Republicans largely say they oppose such legislation, with several saying they would support national action to restrict abortion.
“I’m horrified by what’s happening to women across the country because of Trump’s abortion bans,” U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen, a Democrat in the the 7th Congressional District, wrote in a Denver Post questionnaire response, adding: “I cosponsored legislation to codify access to abortion care in Colorado and I’m determined to get that done in Congress.”
Several of the Republicans have said the states are the only place for such decisions to be made.
“The Supreme Court has returned abortion decisions to the states and it should remain that way,” John Fabbricatore, the GOP candidate running in the 6th Congressional District, wrote in his response in The Post’s questionnaire.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, for her part, is pressing for a federal law curbing abortion access. She represents the 3rd District, but is running for election in the 4th District.
“Life begins at conception, and I will always defend life,” Boebert wrote in her response in The Post’s questionnaire. “I am fully in support of a federal pro-life law that protects the lives of the most vulnerable members of our society.”
State legislative races
Both the executive and legislative branches of state government are currently under Democratic control. The House operates under a 46-19 Democratic supermajority, while in the Senate, Democrats are one vote shy of a supermajority.
If Democrats can expand their Senate margin by at least one seat in this year’s election, they will gain the power to put constitutional amendments on the ballot without needing any Republican votes. Republicans are campaigning hard to prevent that.
If voters pass Amendment 79, state lawmakers would have less ability to change Colorado’s abortion protections. If it fails, the legislature would retain its ability to regulate abortion at the state level.
Several Democrats running in the House’s most contentious races, such as Rep. Stephanie Vigil in District 16 and Rep. Bob Marshall in District 43, highlight their commitment to ensuring abortion access. But Republican candidates in those districts tend to leave abortion off their campaign materials, prioritizing other issues like crime, immigration and the economy instead.
In state Senate races, Democratic candidates, including Cole Buerger in District 5 and Vivian Smotherman in District 6, are also vocal about protecting abortion access, while their political opponents are quieter on the issue — which, for the time being, appears settled in Colorado under Democratic control.
Local races
Local elected officials have some power to decide whether to spend local government funding on abortion services or pass some local regulations, but nearly all action on the issue is at the state level this year.
Anti-abortion officials have perhaps been most vocal in Pueblo, where a city council member has made multiple attempts to advance ordinances banning the procedure within the city. The latest effort was voted down this week, with opponents warning that any ban would immediately be met with a lawsuit from the state.
Ballot measures
This is where Colorado voters will have the most direct say this year: Amendment 79 would elevate Colorado’s existing protections for abortion access to the state constitution. It would also allow state and local government funding for abortion services by repealing a 1984 voter-passed amendment that barred the use of public money for that purpose.
That potentially would let the state include abortion coverage as part of both Medicaid and government employees’ health insurance plans, but doing so would require further action.
Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom, led by abortion-rights groups, petitioned for the measure to make the state ballot. Vote No on 79, which includes anti-abortion groups like Colorado Right to Life, stands at the helm of the opposition campaign.
In order to pass, the proposal requires 55 percent support from voters since it would amend the constitution. The measure’s failure would mean keeping the 1984 language in the constitution and putting the power to make future decisions about abortion in the hands of the state legislature.
