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January 12, 2020 03:02 PM UTC

Thousands March In Denver To Take Away Abortion Rights

  • 17 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

Colorado Public Radio’s Hayley Sanchez reports from the Colorado Capitol yesterday, where thousands of newly-energized religious conservative voters turned out to support ending abortion rights in Colorado–and freely acknowledging that a 22-week abortion ban headed for the ballot this year is a step toward their goal of completely banning abortion:

Thousands of abortion opponents rallied outside the Colorado state Capitol on Saturday afternoon for the “2020 Celebrate Life Rally.”

The gathering is an annual event, but this year it had a new focus — speakers and attendees repeatedly touted Initiative 120, which would ban on abortions in Colorado after 22 weeks of pregnancy. Initiative supporters must turn in 124,632 valid signatures by March 4 in order to qualify for the November ballot.

“We are not going to rest because what started in Colorado will end in Colorado,” said David Bereit, co-founder of 40 Days For Life, a Christian non-profit that campaigns against abortion. “Colorado has tried other ballot initiatives on the pro-life side in the past that have failed. This is the one that a large majority of people agree upon.”

By all accounts the crowd yesterday at the state capitol dwarfed a protest last Wednesday attended by “anti-vaxx” activists and a color-coded range of other fringe issues, cheered on by House Republican leadership. Boosted by reported heavy promotion at area churches, yesterday’s March for Life was probably the largest protest event organized by conservatives in Colorado at least since the “Tea Party” protests of 2009. It’s widely expected that Initiative 120 will qualify for the ballot, largely on the strength of petitions circulated on church property during worship services.

This large protest march takes place against the backdrop of rapidly eroding abortion rights nationwide, and an anti-abortion movement in direct pursuit of the repeal of the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision guaranteeing abortion rights–and with a court now tilted to the right for a generation, their chances are better than ever. Colorado, on the other hand, has routinely rejected abortion ban ballot measures by overwhelmingly numbers in previous elections, clearly demonstrating majority support for safe and legal abortion.

The truth is that abortions later in pregnancy are almost always the result of severe complications and developmental problems that only become apparent later. This reality is a potent counterargument to the 22-week abortion ban in polling, and it changes undecided voters’ minds once properly explained. And once Colorado voters realize that this arbitrary, unscientific limit on abortion rights is meant to lead directly to the next step of banning all abortion, it’s likely they will reject this measure at the polls by a large margin.

With that said, it’s a good bet the religious right in Colorado is going to try harder this year than ever before. Because they realize, as supporters of abortion rights already understand, that the worst-case scenario is only one election away. If there ever was room for complacency on the left with this defining civil rights issue, there isn’t now.

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17 thoughts on “Thousands March In Denver To Take Away Abortion Rights”

  1. The Desperate Trail to Safe-Haven Abortions in Colorado

     

    Reflecting on her own experience and the ballot initiative that would strip other pregnant people of the ability to access that kind of care, Amber found herself searching for the right words: “Frustrating and irritating are not sufficiently intense emotional words,” she said. “It’s insane.”

    She returns to the memory of talking to Matt about how they might have to end the pregnancy without medical care. The “joke” about being pushed down the stairs. “I wasn’t just saying that,” she said. “Women are going to seek unsafe alternatives.”

    “You’re putting women in this position of increasing their risks of death and harm needlessly,” she continued. “Why are you risking this woman’s life? How unimportant is a pregnant person’s life?”

  5. Most women do not regret having an abortion, study finds

    An overwhelming majority of women who get an abortion do not regret the decision to undergo the procedure, according to a new study published in the academic journal Social Science & Medicine on Sunday.

    Researchers surveyed 667 women across 21 states in the US multiple times over a five-year period, tracking each woman’s emotions around their decision to get an abortion. About 95% of women indicated they believe that going through an abortion was the right decision over the course of the study.

    The study asked participants if they had any emotions of sadness, guilt, relief, regret, anger or happiness over their decision. Relief was the most common emotion throughout the five years of the study.

  7. Third trimester abortions are about 1% of all abortions.  A few small studies indicate the reasons for the procedure.  Those studies report:

      * Few are "elective" procedures, and of those which are, many result from major barriers that delayed abortions for decisions made much, MUCH earlier in pregancy (geographic accessibility, costs, requirement of getting permissions, etc.).

     * extreme (and sometimes inevitably fatal) fetal abnormalities,

     * substantial risk to the health or life of the month,

    I was curious about previous elections, so found a database of Colorado ballot issues.  Found the following … any I'm missing?

    Amendment 67Definition of Person and Child35%64%Rejected

    Amendment 62Application of the Term Person29%70%Rejected

    Amendment 48Definition of Person26%73%Rejected

    Amendment 25Requirements for Consent to Abortion39%60%Rejected

    Amendment 11Partial Birth Abortion48%51%Rejected

    Amendment 12Parental Notification for Abortion54%45%Adopted

    Amendment  7Public Funding – Abortions39%60%Rejected

    Amendment  3Prohibit Public Funding of Abortions50%49%Adopted

     

    2. Comprehensive list, J I D , and yes, most were rejected by freedom- loving Coloradans. Every year, though, there are a few proposed that fail as ballot initiatives, as well as bills that fail in the Legislature. 
       

      The pro birth folks will present this as “rescuing babies that could survive outside the womb” complete with heart-rending graphics, even though almost no 22 week olds are viable, and only about 20% of 28 week olds can survive. I think it’s possible the pro-Birchers  get the sigs to put it on the ballot, and I fear that the vote will be a close one. 
       

      We’ll have to be educating people on this as well as everything else, and most Democratic politicians will avoid the issue.

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