This election day, Coloradans resoundingly reaffirmed our shared values on abortion rights across geographic and partisan lines. Coloradans voted YES on Amendment 79 by an overwhelming 62% of the vote, enshrining abortion rights in our state’s Constitution and removing a discriminatory ban on insurance coverage for abortion care.
In less than a week, Colorado voters will make their voices heard on abortion rights at the ballot box, along with millions of voters in the 10 states with abortion ballot measures. Colorado’s ballot measure may come as a surprise: the state has long been seen as a so-called “safe haven” for abortion care, especially in the years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. But, while abortion is legal, it isn’t protected in Colorado’s state constitution. And there’s another fact that too often flies under the radar–nearly 1 million Coloradans can’t get abortion covered by their health insurance due to a state health insurance coverage ban that has been in place since 1984.
It should not take a national uprising for those in positions of power to recognize their long-standing history of neglect or outright violence against our communities, and it certainly shouldn’t take communities of color banding together to make sure we hear from the people who want to make huge, sweeping decisions that impact our lives and our families.
