Election 2020: Proposition 115 - Abortion Ban

Colorado's first law addressing abortion was introduced by freshman Democratic representative Dick Lamm (who later served three terms as governor) in 1967, and legalized abortion in cases of rape or incest, or if the woman's mental or physical health was at risk.

Moreover, women seeking an abortion could only do so up until 16 weeks of gestation and had to present their case for abortion before a three-doctor panel. The bill was eventually passed with bipartisan support and signed into law by Republican Governor John Love. Before then, like many other states, Colorado only allowed abortion in cases where the woman's life was in danger.

In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Roe v. Wade, upheld a woman's right to seek an abortion. Since then, abortion regulations in Colorado have loosened (there is no longer a gestational cutoff) and Colorado voters have voted down proposed abortion bans, most notably, three times within the last 20 years.

Colorado is touted as progressive in terms of abortion rights and is one of only seven states without a gestational limit on abortions. Only four other countries globally allow abortion throughout pregnancy. However, this could change in November with Proposition 115, which would make "late term" abortions after 22 weeks illegal in nearly all cases.

"Previous measures would have banned abortion all together," said Giuliana Day, one of the sponsors of the proposition "This is not a ban but rather a restriction when the preborn baby is fully formed and able to survive outside the mother's womb while still allowing a woman five and a half months to have a choice about her pregnancy."

"There is no precise legal or medical definition of 'late-term,'" said Stephanie Clarke, a representative from Vote No on 115. "That is not a medical term, but a political construct... that has been weaponized to describe abortion later in pregnancy at the expense of women and families."

With most pregnancies lasting 40 weeks on average, the 22-week ban is barely more than half-way through the average gestational period. Opponents of the proposition argue that a blanket ban is dangerous, because each pregnancy is unique.

"Health needs should drive important personal medical decisions--not politics," Clarke argued.

According to a Gallop poll, 74% of Americans are in support of limiting abortions late in pregnancy. "Colorado's law allowing abortion until birth is extreme and out of step," Day said.

While the law would not target the women seeking the abortions, or involved parties such as a pharmasist filling a prescription, if passed, Prop. 115 would target physicians who perform those abortions. Violation would result in a class one misdemeanor charge.

The only exception to the ban would be if the abortion is "required to save the life of a pregnant woman."

Opponents of the ban argue that this, in and of itself, is especially limiting in terms of abortion access and care where such services are already fairly limited. People from across the country and the world come to Colorado from places that systematically block women from seeking an abortion earlier in their pregnancy, as well as places where there are barriers to contraception.

For example, a Michigan woman who was identified as Margot, was unable to get an abortion in her home state due to gestational limits. Doctors first detected abnormalities with the pregnancy before the 24-week cutoff. The diagnosis was later identified as lissencephaly, a debilitating disease that has a life expectancy of no more than 10 years. However, this diagnosis wasn't confirmed until after the 24-week cutoff. Margot, like many other women made the decision to come to Colorado for an abortion.

"Many believe that late term abortion is very rare," Day said. "Yet hundreds of late term abortions are performed each year in Colorado."

According to the CDC's abortion surveillance report from 2016, which included reporting from 48 areas nationwide, the majority (91%) of abortions were performed before 13 weeks of gestation. Only 1.2% of abortions were performed at 21 weeks or later. Of the 623,471 legal abortions in 2016, those 1.2% of abortions work out to about 7,400 in total.

If passed, proponents of Prop.115 have declared that they will continue to seek more strict measures. "We're not going to stop," said Deacon Geoff Bennett, a representative of the Catholic Church. "If we get this on the ballot and we get this approved, we're going to do like many other states. Eventually they've gotten heartbeat bills."

Opponents to the bill are diverse. The group Vote No on 115 has been endorsed by medical and health care professionals as well as community, business and elected leaders. More than 1130 faith leaders signed a letterin opposition to the bill.

Similarly, proponents of the bill are also diverse, with supporters representing both genders, and across ethnicity, race, religion and party lines.

Clarke also pointed out that a potential ramification of the proposition being approved might be a long, expensive court battle. This is because a U.S. Supreme Court decision prohibits state laws that limit abortion access without exceptions for women's health. The question of whether or not Prop. 115's exception of abortion in case of risk to the woman's life is enough to fullfill this requirement is likely to end up in court.

The Secretary of State's Office puts out lists of groups both in favor and in opposition to various ballot measures. More information can be found here.

For more information about Due Date Too Late, which is in favor of Prop. 115, visit: http://www.duedatetoolate.com

For more information about Vote No on 115, which is in opposition to Prop. 115, visit: http://www.voteno115.com