Last month, RISE Collective, composed of former employees of the Boulder Abortion Clinic, opened its doors and began providing abortions. RISE picks up where Dr. Warren Hern, the founder of the Boulder Abortion Clinic who retired after fifty years of practice in April, left off — as one of the few clinics in the nation offering abortions later in pregnancy. RISE offers abortions to patients who are up to 34 weeks pregnant. With the new clinic, anti-abortion groups are renewing opposition to late-term abortion.
“Pro-life Americans must keep speaking for the unborn — the most vulnerable among us,” said Richard Harris, executive director of Truth & Liberty Foundation in a Nov. 11 news release. “All abortions are the killing of an innocent human being, and late-term abortion is the most horrific and barbaric of all. The people of Colorado must rise up and rescind the disgraceful laws that allow this offense against common decency. No civilized society should permit policies that allow a fully formed child to be intentionally killed for any reason.”
Abortions in the third trimester of pregnancy account for 1% of all abortions in the United States. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “These abortions receive a disproportionate amount of attention in the news, policy and the law, and discussions on this topic are often fraught with misinformation; for example, intense public discussions have been sparked after several policymakers have theorized about abortions occurring ‘moments before birth’ or even ‘after birth.’ In reality, these scenarios do not occur, nor are they legal in the U.S. Discussion of this topic is further obscured due to the terms sometimes used to describe abortions later in pregnancy– including ‘late-term,’ ‘post-viability,’ ‘partial birth,’ ‘dismemberment’ and ‘born-alive’ abortions—despite many medical professionals criticizing and opposing their use.”
Colorado’s legislature and voters have consistently and overwhelmingly supported the right to abortion throughout the duration of a pregnancy, which has led to claims from anti-abortion advocates and Republican legislators — like Douglas County Commissioner Kevin Van Winkle — of “post-natal” abortions.
“Colorado’s lack of gestational limits has turned the state into a destination for abortions,” said Harris. “This is a policy choice — not a medical necessity — and it is out of step with the moral convictions of millions of Americans. When a clinic says any reason is the right one, that reveals a worldview that discards both science and conscience.”
Last week, both pro- and anti-abortion groups held events in Boulder. Cobalt, Colorado’s long-running pro-abortion nonprofit, held “A Long Time Coming: A Reproductive HerStory of Colonial America and the United States” at the Museum of Boulder on Nov. 7, where dozens of community members gathered to learn about the long history of reproductive rights in America. Spread across 30 panels, Cobalt’s timeline spanned from 1619, when the first enslaved people were brought to America, to the present day, with particular attention paid to the often overlooked contributions Black and brown women have made to the cause.
On Nov. 9, a new anti-abortion group calling itself Boulder Women’s Health held an event at the Canyon Theater which featured noted anti-abortion activists like Dr. Catherine Wheeler, a former abortion provider who now argues that life begins at conception, and Mayra Rodriguez, a former Planned Parenthood supervisor turned anti-abortion activist. Boulder Women’s Health’s website features a petition to have RISE’s lease terminated, and tips for anti-abortion activists like “Ask Church to Write Letter Asking to Terminate Lease Due to Harms” and “Peaceful Protest at Site.”
