The Colorado Women’s Bar Association (CWBA) affirms and restates its dedication to the right to privacy, particularly the right to choose an abortion, which is guaranteed to all American citizens under Roe v. Wade. Reproductive rights, health, and justice are essential to the CWBA’s mission of advancing women in the law. Whether to become a parent or carry a pregnancy to term, and under what circumstances, is one of the most serious decisions many attorneys will face in their careers.
As stated by the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: “This is something central to a woman’s life, to her dignity. It’s a decision that she must make for herself. And when government controls that decision for her, she’s being treated as less than a fully adult human responsible for her own choices.”
On September 1, 2021, the United States Supreme Court permitted a blatantly unconstitutional six-week abortion ban to go into effect in Texas. The Court’s deafening silence and inaction on Texas Senate Bill 8 (SB8), which deputizes private citizens to prosecute those seeking abortion, their healthcare providers, and anyone else who “aids and abets” an abortion, signals that Roe v. Wade and its progeny are in serious peril, even as the Court prepares to consider Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which will determine the constitutionality of a 15-week abortion ban in Mississippi.
The Texas abortion ban has a direct effect on Colorado as one of the few “safe haven” states in the region: according to local abortion funds, approximately half of the practical support and direct funds for abortion dispensed since September 1, 2021, were given to Texan women.
The CWBA is committed to protecting the right to seek an abortion in the State of Colorado, and to furthering reproductive rights for all. Such laws disproportionately affect people of color and those who struggle economically. These laws also threaten the ability of women and members of the LGBTQ community to maintain autonomy over their bodies and their destinies.
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The CWBA commends the Colorado Attorney General for his choice to join the coalition in support of the U.S. Department of Justice’s challenge to SB8.
Abortion must be safe, legal, and accessible. The CWBA will continue to fight for that right in the state of Colorado and across the United States.
