Analyzing How the State Will Be Affected After the Overturning of Roe v. Wade
When the Supreme Court ruled to overturn the decades-long Roe v. Wade decision, people from both sides of the political spectrum reacted. Many conservatives across the country embraced the decision and were delighted that the legality of abortions would be brought to each state to consider. Those who lean toward the left took it to the streets to protest to the point where many said the decision turned what would have been a “hot girl summer” into an “angry girl summer.”
Even though the recent Supreme Court ruling had a little direct effect on Colorado due to the state legislators passing the Reproductive Health Equity Act last spring, which makes it a right for an individual to get an abortion at any point during a pregnancy, Coloradans still had similar reactions as the rest of the country.
After the decision became official, groups like the Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family, which has been fighting for stricter abortion laws for years, applauded the ruling. But on the other hand, protesters hit the streets in just about every major Colorado city to demonstrate against the decision.
Colorado Becomes an Island for Abortion Rights Overnight
Once the Roe v. Wade decision was overturned, the availability of legal abortions started to drastically differ from state to state. Even before the decision was made official, 13 states had “trigger bans,” which put restrictions on abortions the minute Roe v. Wade was overturned. And several others started drafting legislation to limit or outlaw abortions. Click here for a guide that shows the legality of abortion in all states.
Seeing as how Colorado is basically surrounded by red states, there are no other states that border it that have passed similar abortion rights laws. Three states that border the Sunshine State – Utah, Wyoming and Oklahoma – were some of the 13 states that had “trigger laws” in effect.
This means that Colorado is now one of the only states in the central part of the U.S. that protects the right to an abortion with state law. Therefore, many people have speculated that out-of-staters may start traveling to Colorado to get abortions and other related medical procedures that are outlawed where they live.
Experts Say the State Will See an Uptick in Out-of-State Abortions
Most can agree that one of the effects on Colorado will be an increase in people traveling to the state to get abortions since the procedures will soon be illegal in several states in the region. Many worry that the influx of travelers will put a strain on the state’s medical system and abortion/contraceptive care providers.
According to an article published by Colorado Public Radio, experts are still unclear as to how big of an impact Colorado will see. “Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains said it expects to see appointments increase by about 20 percent in one to three years,” CPR reported. “More than 400 people from Wyoming came to Colorado for an abortion in 2021, and the number of people from Texas who came to Colorado for an abortion nearly doubled from 2020 to 2021.”
In an article published by NPR of Northern Colorado, Samantha Coetzee from KUNC interviewed Kate Coleman-Minahan, an assistant professor and nurse practitioner with the University of Colorado’s College of Nursing, about how Colorado will be affected by the overturning of Roe V. Wade. Coleman-Minahan studies how policy and clinical practice impact access to abortions and the quality of contraceptive and abortion care at the university.
She said that her colleagues who provide abortion care started getting inundated with phone calls from people in and out of the state that was “anxious and afraid,” and asking for abortion and contraceptive care immediately after the decision was made.
“Researchers have estimated that since Texas enacted its six-week ban in September, about 1,400 people each month have left the state to get essential health care — many of whom have come here to Colorado,” Coleman-Minahan explained. “So we’ve already seen greater numbers of people getting care here in Colorado, and that is only going to grow as neighboring states ban care, including states like Utah and Oklahoma that declared abortion care to be illegal starting on Friday (June 24, 2022, when the decision was overturned.) The increase in people seeking care in Colorado has resulted in longer wait times and delays, even among Coloradans, already.”
She also said that since people in Colorado already face some legal barriers to accessing abortion care, the increase in demand for the services could mean that even more people won’t be able to access the care they seek. “We have a ban on state Medicaid funding to pay for abortion,” the assistant professor and nurse practitioner said. “And we have a law that forces young people to involve a parent or obtain permission from a judge to get an abortion, which, as my research has shown, is extremely harmful and will only compound the enormous barriers that young people will face trying to get to Colorado. There’s a lot of Coloradans right now asking how to help, and local efforts are needed to remove these local legal restrictions, provide legal protections for healthcare providers in the state, and to expand the capacity of healthcare providers across the state.”
Even though it is impossible to predict the future and know every way the new policies will affect Colorado, expect to see proposals on abortion legislation in the near future. As the nurse practitioner said, pro-choice groups will try to get rid of the abortion laws in place and make it easier for people from other states to come to Colorado procedures. Pro-life groups will most likely continue to attempt to pass laws that restrict abortions in the state, including those traveling from other states.
