Legislators in Colorado are considering a bill, the Reproductive Health Equity Act, that would radically expand legal abortion in the state. According to the draft text, the bill would allow abortion for any reason throughout all of pregnancy, prohibit regulations on abortions chosen based on the child’s sex or diagnosis with a disability, remove parental-notification requirements for abortions performed on minors, and forbid safety regulations aimed at protecting the health of pregnant mothers seeking abortions.
What’s more, the law would explicitly state that “a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent or derivative rights” under state law.
Democratic state senator Julie Gonzales, one of the bill’s sponsors, said at a rally promoting her legislation that it is needed “to ensure that Colorado is truly a legal and safe place for anyone seeking access to their right to reproductive care.”
Colorado has a long history of promoting legal abortion; in 1967, it became the first state in the country to permit abortion outside of instances when a woman has been raped or her life is at risk. In 2020, Colorado voters considered a ballot measure that would’ve made abortion illegal after 22 weeks’ gestation, the point at which unborn children are able to survive if born prematurely. That measure failed, 59 percent to 41 percent.