What O’dea has said about abortion

Plenty of evidence exists for Colorado being largely pro-abortion rights — right down to the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate.

Businessman Joe O’dea won the GOP nomination convincingly in June, boosted by established Republican politicians and hammering a message of economy, inflation and gas prices.

He explicitly states he’s not running on what he calls social issues, and the issues page of his campaign website doesn’t explicitly mention abortion or any of its euphemisms — but it does feature an open letter from self-described pro-life leaders endorsing him.

But O’dea is upfront about his beliefs when asked.

He holds a more open position than others in his party who believe life begins at conception and want a ban on abortions. It’s led to opposition by some conservatives, including a primary election rival who wielded the issue like a cudgel.

O’dea’s position on abortion rights is more limited than his general election opponent, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, and recent state law that codifies the right to an abortion.

In all, abortion rights remain contentious in the state. Republican state lawmakers led an all-night filibuster earlier this year to fight a proposal to codify abortion access in state law; weeks later, supporters in the legislature snapped up front pages of newspapers to keep as mementos after Gov. Jared Polis signed it into law.

At the ballot box, voters are regularly asked to outright ban or put limits on the procedure. Backers of another such proposal have approval to gather signatures to ask voters again in 2022 to ban abortions.

The most recent effort, 2020’s proposition 115, would have banned abortions after 22 weeks of gestation. Voters rejected it with 59% opposed.

The issue has also received new focus after the U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned the right to an abortion as established in Roe vs. Wade, and kicked it down to states to decide. That decision prompted a new push for federal legislation governing its access.

So, where exactly does O’dea stand on abortion rights?

In broad strokes, O’dea supports the right to an abortion as initially laid out in the 1973 decision Roe vs. Wade. That decision, and others around it, generally allowed abortion up until fetal viability, though it didn’t specify when that is. The court also allowed some statelevel restrictions

O’dea has said an abortion early in the pregnancy is between a person and their doctor and God.

“I believe that decision is between a person and their God, not me,” O’dea said during the Western Conservative Summit in June. “That’s not what government is designed to do. They shouldn’t be in the middle of that decision.”

In a June interview with Dan Caplis, a conservative talk show host, before the court officially ended the national right to an abortion, O’dea said he’d vote for a policy that largely aligned with Roe vs. Wade.

But, he had a few specific lines in the sand: No late-term, elective and non-medically necessary abortions and no taxpayer funding for the procedure. O’dea also supports parental notification for minors receiving the procedure.

Another one of the six bystanders injured during a Denver police shooting in Lower Downtown two weekends ago is sharing his story, saying officers “put a bunch of innocent people in danger.”

Willis Small IV, 24, told The Denver Post in a Friday interview he was downtown enjoying Denver’s nightlife during the early morning of July 17 when he saw a group of police officers running past the Larimer Beer Hall, at 20th and Larimer streets.

Moments later, Small said he was shot in his left foot.

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“I looked down and saw a hole in my shoe and knew I had been shot,” said Small, the third shooting victim to discuss that night’s events publicly. “I tried my best to run, but I was limping.”

Small, an Aurora resident, said he didn’t see the altercation in which Denver police shot an armed man and injured six bystanders as bars let out in the crowded nightlife district.

Denver police allege 21-year-old Jordan Waddy pulled out a gun as officers approached him. Three officers fired at Waddy, striking him. Six other people were shot or hit by shrapnel.

Waddy, who did not fire a gun, was hit in the back, leg, butt and chest, according to his attorney.

Small said he alerted a group of police that he had been shot in the foot, but they walked passed him. He said he limped to his car and drove himself to Denver Health Medical Center.

Once Small walked into the hospital and told the front desk what happened, they said, “‘This is another one from the incident downtown,’ and put me into a wheelchair and wheeled me back into the room,” he said Friday.

Denver police took a statement from Small in the hospital and questioned him about what he was doing that evening. They took his clothes for evidence, he said.

When Small asked police who shot him, he said officers told him they needed to conduct an investigation.

“To this day, I still have not heard from any actual source besides my personal attorney and the news media that police had shot me,” Small said. “No officer or official has reached out to let me know.”

Denver police Chief Paul Pazen did call Small to apologize for the situation, Small said. But the chief didn’t say who shot him, Small said.

In a written statement Friday, Denver police said, “The Denver Police Department remains concerned for the injured bystanders and will continue to offer resources and support through the Victim Assistance Unit, and we recognize the need to rebuild trust with the community we serve in order to keep our residents safe.”

Small said he learned after watching the news that Denver police had injured multiple bystanders during the shooting that evening. Small’s father found Siddhartha Rathod, the attorney representing two of the other bystanders shot during the incident, 26-yearold Yekalo Weldehiwet and 24-year-old Bailey Alexander.

All three clients had to learn from news reports that they were shot by Denver police, Rathod said.