Chants of reproductive justice rang through downtown Durango on Sunday as community members marched from Schneider Park to Rotary Park in support of women’s right to choose.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 to overturn Roe v. Wade, a precedent that had protected a woman’s right to abortion for nearly 50 years. Since then, states such as Idaho, Texas and Oklahoma have placed full bans on abortion.
In Colorado, abortion is legal at all stages of pregnancy despite regularly defeated attempts to restrict abortions such as Amendment 48 in 2008 and Proposition 115 in 2020, which sought to prohibit abortions after a fetus reaches 22 weeks.
Democratic candidate for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District Adam Frisch and incumbent House District 59 Rep. Barbara McLachlan spoke at the event.
Frisch said it is unbelievable that women’s reproductive rights are being debated in 2022.
A new poll commissioned by Frisch’s campaign shows him trailing incumbent Rep. Lauren Boebert by just 2 percentage points, which is within the statistical margin of error.
“We were down about six or seven points in July,” he said. “We’re now statistically tied with Lauren Boebert.”
Frisch said he is concerned about politicians, including Boebert, who say abortions should be banned even in the case of incest and rape. In reference to Boebert’s argument that 79% of Americans oppose late-term abortions, he said most abortions happen within the first trimester.
“It’s not about being pro abortion. It’s about being pro-choice,” Frisch said. “Anytime there are late-term abortions, it is because of devastating medical situations that have gone horribly wrong.”
He said the number of abortions have decreased by 50% over the last 30 years and 90% happen in the first trimester.
According to research conducted by Pew Research Center, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported over 1 million abortions in 1991, whereas in 2019, it reported 629,828 abortions.
Frisch said the proposed federal ban on abortion, which some Republican have expressed interest in, is alarming, and making sure Colorado has the resources to provide care to those coming across state lines from banned abortion states is necessary.
McLachlan said the state of women’s reproductive rights in Colorado are safe at the moment but it all depends on who is elected into office. While a statutory protection was signed earlier this year for abortion as a federal right, McLachlan said making abortion protection part of the Colorado Constitution creates better protection for reproductive rights because it would have to be voted on to overturn it.
Other community members such as Teal Lehto, water rights activist known in the area for her informational TikTok videos, spoke out about how their rights could be in jeopardy if people don’t vote for pro-choice candidates in November.
“If we want to maintain the sanctity of our reproductive freedom in Colorado, we have to turn out to vote and vote for people who prioritize our freedom,” she said.
Lehto was disappointed that only 32% of active voters turned out for the primary elections. She said in the 18- to 24-age bracket, more Republicans voted than Democrats.
“I think a lot of people don’t understand how primaries work,” Lehto said. “But also, I think that there is a general sentiment of exhaustion among a lot of young people.”
Local comedian Bailey Carlson spoke at the event. As a transgender man, he said it can feel like trans people are forgotten about when discussing reproductive rights.
“Trans people are left out of the conversation, especially trans men, when it comes to reproductive rights, because people see this as a women’s issue, which it totally is” Carlson said.
He said it also impacts anyone with a uterus, which includes people like trans and nonbinary people.
tbrown@durangoherald.com
