Would Colorado's amendment that enshrines abortion access protect against a federal ban? Experts explain
Denver 7 News
DENVER With the amount of support Amendment 79 received, the constitutional right to abortion in Colorado seems to have appealed across party lines.
"We do think that basically, one in four Republicans strongly supports the right to an abortion," said Kiera Hatton, the political director at Cobalt, an organization that supports funding and access to abortion and other reproductive health care.
Cobalt advocated for the passage of Amendment 79.
"Colorado has always supported the right to abortion. We did that in state statute back in 2022, and we wanted to make sure that becomes a permanent protection for Colorado residents," said Hatton.
But some people may wonder how permanent it is, particularly with a likely Republican-led House and Senate.
"It seems that there is some impetus at the federal level to do a national abortion ban," said Sheila Ruski, a political science professor at Metropolitan State University Denver.
Ruski explained if there is a contradiction between federal law and state law, including a state's constitution, federal law dominates.
Colorado is no stranger to this conflict. Marijuana, for example, is legal at the state level but illegal federally. Experts said that sort of "look the other way" mentality is highly unlikely if federal lawmakers pass a national abortion ban.
"Under the Preemption Doctrine, there is an assumption that the federal government will stay out of issues that have traditionally belonged to the states," said Ruski, " But I am very doubtful that kind of standard of restraint at the federal level would hold in this case."
Ruski continued, "This is just a guess, that if the federal government goes as far as to initiate or enact a federal abortion ban, they will very much be intending to stop abortions in the states."
She said this hypothetical scenario wouldn't be immediate, as court challenges against a nationwide ban would likely follow such a decision.
President-elect Donald Trump has said he would veto any national abortion ban.