Abortion

A new law banning abortions in Wyoming was put on hold by a state judge Wednesday. That means services continue at the state’s one clinic that provides them. How long that will last, though, is uncertain, as the judge only blocked the law temporarily until she can hear a lawsuit by abortion rights advocates.

As the battle for reproductive rights deepens in post-Roe America, a law professor points out, “Colorado is going to be so important in the near future, immediate future, right now."

After the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion one month ago, some in Colorado are now working to expand access, while others are trying to push back.

Montana is an island of legal abortion, but three of the state's five clinics now restrict abortion pills from people in states with trigger bans to shield themselves and patients from legal attacks.

The U.S. Supreme Court has handed abortion decisions to states. That means state supreme courts will likely have to review what abortion rights people have under state constitutions. In the Mountain West, there are already several lawsuits about abortion laws that these state courts have to review. That includes one suit in Idaho and another in Utah, which has led to a temporary stay of that law going into effect.

On Friday, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a ruling that for nearly half a century had protected the constitutional right to abortion for people across the nation. Now, the decision on whether abortion will remain legal is turned over to the states. Colorado has laws on the books that protect abortion in this state, but for many surrounding states that isn’t the case.

Dr. Warren Hern, the director of the Boulder Abortion Clinic, discusses how many abortion providers are already at capacity in the state, and how lower-income people are affected by restricted access to the procedure.

Abortion rights advocates have been bracing for the ruling for months. Democrats in the state legislature passed a law this year aiming to stop cities and towns from trying to pass any restrictions themselves.

A new report shows the number of abortions in the U.S. rose significantly in recent years, and increases were seen in many Mountain West states – including some that are poised to ban abortion.

When Julie Burkhart learned about the Supreme Court draft opinion that would end abortion protections, she let out an involuntary shriek from her airplane seat. “Because it felt like such a gut punch,” Burkhart said. “And then after that, getting into the opinion and reading that — it was chilling.”