YES: Banning abortions after 22- weeks, with exceptions to save the life of a pregnant woman, is reasonable
Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated Colorado voters — 153,000 of them — came together to demand a November ballot measure seeking to limit abortion in our state, the first to legalize it in 1967. My support — like many Coloradans — is not simply based upon my convictions but also my personal experience.
During my first pregnancy, I developed a life- threatening condition known as preeclampsia and my doctors ordered an emergency delivery to save my life. I was only 27 weeks along in the pregnancy when my daughter, Taylor, was born. Taylor was immediately admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit ( NICU) where she lived for the first three months of her life.
After delivery, my health began to improve and eventually my organs fully recovered. There were many hard days and setbacks for Taylor in the NICU, but she fought hard to live. She may have been tiny, but her will to live was mighty. After 94 days in the hospital, Taylor came home with us. She turned 11 years old this March and is happy, thriving, and creative.
No woman should ever have to feel her only option is to abort her child, though I am empathetic to the circumstances that lead some women to the brink of that choice. But I want to say, there is a better way. We can help moms and we can save babies.
This fall, Coloradans can vote to do just that. Proposition 115 will be on the ballot to prohibit abortion after 22 weeks, with an exception for the life of the mother. This is entirely reasonable. Colorado is one of only seven states in America with no gestational restriction on late- term abortion. Colorado abortions are legal until birth for any reason whatsoever.
According to a study from the University of Iowa reported by The Federalist, an estimated 64% of babies born at 22 weeks gestation in the United States can survive with medical assistance. That jumps to 82% at 23 weeks. Studies in other countries show similar survival rates. Scientific evidence demonstrates that babies born at 22 weeks can live outside the mother’s womb. Colorado abortion policy should be updated to be consistent with medical advancements. If premature babies can live as early as 22 weeks outside the mother’s womb, let’s give them that chance.
In 1967, Colorado became the first state in the nation to liberalize its abortion law. Today it has a reputation for being a late- term abortion state. Women from around the country travel to Colorado for their late- term abortions. For context, even California’s abortion policy is more reasonable than Colorado’s and restricts lateterm abortion after the point of viability ( the time in which a fetus can live outside the mother’s womb). It’s time for Colorado to embrace a moderate and reasonable position.
When New York lifted restrictions on late- term abortions, people around the country were disturbed and rightly so. It was surreal to see individuals cheering and celebrating death. It felt dark and unsettling. In fact, people I talked to here in Colorado were shocked to learn that unrestricted abortion has been the law in Colorado for decades.
Most Americans have a moderate position on abortion, even those who are pro- choice. Don’t take my word for it. Look at the Gallup public opinion polls. The percentage of people who consider themselves “pro- life” or “pro- choice” is roughly the same over the years.
But when asked by Gallup whether abortion should “generally be legal or generally illegal” during the last trimester of pregnancy, 80% or more say illegal. That was the polling in 2018. And in 2012. Also in 2003. As well as 1996.
Opponents of Colorado’s late- term abortion ban will portray any restriction on abortion as an effort to control women’s bodies and limit reproductive freedom. They’re being unreasonable.
Tens of thousands of voters in Colorado — unaffiliated, registered Democrats and registered Republicans — signed the petition to put Proposition 115 on the ballot. This November, regardless of which candidates you support, all Coloradans should vote for Proposition 115, the late- term abortion ban, because it’s reasonable, commonsense policy.
This isn’t a partisan issue. It’s a human rights issue. Let’s be reasonable.