Editor’s Note: This week Ark Valley Voice will go through each 2020 ballot question, covering the pros and cons of each. All 2020 Ballot question coverage will be filed under the AVV In-depth category “Elections”.
Proposition 115 would ban abortions after a fetus reaches 22-weeks gestational age as calculated from the first day of the woman’s last menstrual period. This ban would not make exceptions in cases of rape, devastating, or lethal fetal diagnosis. Currently, Colorado does not limit the gestational age at which an abortion can be performed, leaving it to a woman and her doctor. This does not mean that women can get an abortion for any reason up until birth, as this is scientifically impossible.
Under this initiative, abortions after 22 weeks would be lawful only if the physician believes it is immediately necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman. In this situation, the physician would be allowed to rely on the gestational age assessment made by another physician.
This initiative would make performing a prohibited abortion a Class 1 misdemeanor, the most serious level of a misdemeanor in Colorado, which would be punishable by a fine ranging from $500 to $5,000. A woman would not be charged with the crime, but the physician who performed it would be. Along with the fine, medical professionals who are found to have performed the prohibited abortion would have their medical license suspended by the Colorado Medical Board for a minimum of three years.
Pros:
There are four committees registered to support the initiative:
- Coalition for Women and Children
- Alliance for Life
- End Birthday Abortions Colorado
- Coalition to Help Moms and Save Babies
The committees reported $257,398 in contributions and $168,086 in expenditures. The largest donor to the support committee was T2 Holdings, which gave $12,000. According to proponents this bill would:
- Ban abortions after 22 weeks
- Support the viewpoint of certain organizations that think it is a “reasonable limit”
Due Date Too Late (operated by Coalition for Women and Children) has argued that “Colorado is one of the very few places in the world, and only one of seven states where abortions can be legally performed any time during pregnancy and even up to birth for any reason. In 2020, Coloradans will vote on a commonsense limit that will draw a line at five months into pregnancy.”
Measure sponsor Erin Behrens explained to Ballotpedia, “We are going to put a very reasonable limit of 22 weeks, which is about five months into pregnancy. And we think that this reasonable limit will pass overwhelmingly in Colorado, and we will finally be brought into the 21st century. We will finally be among all the other states that have reasonable limits, and we will finally not be the late-term abortion capital of the United States.
Cons:
History has shown that most women seek out later-term abortions due to medical issues with the fetus. Taking away a women’s right to choose allows politics to dictate personal health decisions. This bill would:
- Take away a woman’s right to choose
- Reduces the complexity of every pregnancy down to a one-size-fits-all issue
- Make woman carry out their pregnancy even in cases of devastating fetal diagnosis or rape
A Colorado couple, both young teachers, recently found out their unborn child has a rare disorder known as Agenesis of Corpus Callosum. The mother was 26 weeks along when she found out this news. This disorder is characterized by a partial or complete absence of an area of the brain that connects the two cerebral hemispheres. The couple was given the option of a late-term abortion. They chose not to take it. But the fact remains; taking away the option to choose — for a family already facing a devastating situation — only adds more heartbreak. Opponents of the bill say this decision must be made by the parents consulting with their doctor; not the government.
Two committees are registered to oppose the initiative: Abortion Access for All and Student Vote No on 115. Abortion Access for All contributed $5.3 million and $4.6 million in expenditures. The largest donor was Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains Action Fund, which gave $1.05 million. Students Vote No on 115 raised $7,769 and had spent $1,922. Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains Action Fund was the largest donor, providing $1.05 million.
The registered agent for the Abortion Access for All committee is Sarah Taylor-Nanista of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains. Jack Teter, Colorado political director for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, argued, “This proposal would force a woman who learns later in her pregnancy that her pregnancy is developing with no brain or no lungs, to pack a suitcase and get on an airplane and leave her family and her community and her support system behind to travel to another state that doesn’t criminalize access to healthcare. This measure has no exceptions for rape and incest, it has no exceptions for maternal health, and that is cruel and unconscionable and that’s an abortion ban voters aren’t going to support.”
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