Opinion: Colorado needs Amendment 79 because abortion past victories risk complacency, even in blue states
Colorado Sun
Before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade two years ago, states that support abortion rights had enacted new protections — and that trend has intensified. But these hard-won legislative successes have also created complacency, just when every state should be enshrining abortion rights in their constitutions.
Colorado is a perfect case in point.
Most Coloradans don’t realize that the high marks on the state’s abortion rights record are a result of ongoing and substantial pressure to get leaders to do the right thing. After my organization and a coalition of partner organizations pressed, the Reproductive Health Equity Act, or RHEA, was signed into law, containing crucial abortion protections in anticipation of the Dobbs decision two years ago.
But despite the General Assembly creating the statutory protections within RHEA, Colorado’s constitution (like the vast majority of states in America) still does not protect abortion rights. It contains a regressive 1980s-era provision that bars the state from paying for reproductive health care for its 117,000 employees and others who access state-run health care plans, including Medicaid. This policy affects over 1.8 million Coloradans — more than 30% of the state’s population is impacted by the insurance coverage ban.
This is a prime example of racial inequity being baked into a state constitution. According to UCLA’s Latino Policy and Politics Institute, one-third of Latinos — and more than half (55%) of Latino children in Colorado — are covered by Medicaid. Both Latinos and children are more likely to be covered by Medicaid than the state population overall (19% for all Coloradans and 35% for all children).
Leaders must do the right thing for all Coloradans — and especially Latinos — by voicing firm and unequivocal support for Amendment 79 on the November ballot.
On April 18, a broad-based coalition of Coloradans led by COLOR and Cobalt Advocates, along with dozens of labor unions, religious leaders, health care providers and civil rights groups, secured enough signatures to put a question on the ballot to enshrine protections for abortion access in the Colorado Constitution.
This effort is part of a broader movement nationwide. In fact, Colorado is one of eight states voting to expand abortion access in November. In May, Coloradans for Reproductive Freedom gathered more than the 125,000 valid petition signatures needed to place Amendment 79 on the ballot. As noted in an article from Ms. Magazine, this initiative gives Colorado voters a chance to prove their support for abortion rights in the Centennial State. The measure aims to make Colorado a model for other states, showcasing what is possible in terms of bodily autonomy and reproductive health care protections.
The opportunity here is not only defensive; places like Colorado must go beyond what Roe held. As Michigan State University law professor Quinn Yeargain noted shortly after the Dobbs decision, “The rights and liberties protected by the federal Constitution only set a floor, not a ceiling. … States cannot provide less protection than the federal Constitution, but they can provide more.”
Despite this opportunity, reproductive freedom in so-called blue states remains remarkably fragile. This is often due to a lack of imagination by progressives — in and out of office — who believe our rights have been secured, or they have a vague hope that there must be some line that antiabortion extremists won’t cross.
Groups like COLOR know better. We work with and on behalf of Latinos for health equity and justice. We see the harmful impacts when hourly wage workers and those reliant on public health care plans are denied care — or forgo it due to financial insecurity, fear of stigma and other barriers.
Some might argue that a blue state like Colorado or even New York, which also lacks constitutional protections for abortion, will never have to worry about antiabortion forces gaining political control and passing new restrictions. But we know that isn’t true.
Antiabortion extremists have a strong chance of controlling the White House and Congress next year. Despite former President Donald Trump being the person most singularly responsible for the end of Roe and the ensuing health risks confronting millions of people, he and other conservative politicians have attempted to appear more moderate on abortion lately; however, their antiabortion backers won’t stop until they end reproductive freedom nationwide.
In fact, antiabortion groups have published detailed plans. A reelected President Trump could order his Justice Department to use the Comstock Act to bar medication abortion from being sold or mailed across state lines, potentially stripping access to reproductive health care in Colorado by next year.
Given this reality, supporting a ballot measure to protect abortion rights is essential. The real question is: How quickly can states enshrine these rights in their constitutions? Colorado has a solid game plan to lead by example — it’s time to act before it’s too late.
Dusti Gurule of Denver is the president and CEO of the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights, or COLOR, and COLOR Action Fund.
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