Roe v Wade

Nearly two years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and removed federal abortion protections, a legal chess game is taking place among states. Some of these effects are being seeing in Mountain West states.

A Colorado abortion fund said Thursday it's helped hundreds access abortion in the first months of 2024, the majority arriving from Texas where abortion is restricted.

Doctors and clinic leaders say there'll be a scramble across the Southwest and West for abortion care, including to Colorado. The Arizona Supreme Court said this week officials may enforce an 1864 law criminalizing abortion except when a woman's life is at stake.

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor died on Friday, December 1 at age 93. Justice O’Connor was the first woman to serve on the nation’s highest court. The Colorado Women’s Bar Association President Emma Garrison joined KUNC’s Nikole Robinson Carroll to talk about Justice O’Connor’s legacy.

Abortions increased throughout the U.S. in the year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, according to newly released data. This trend comes despite more than a dozen states passing abortion restrictions or bans following the court’s decision.

Nearly one year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the number of people traveling to states where abortion is still legal has surged, stretching local resources.

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.

The Mountain West is as divided on abortion as the nation, itself. States like Colorado have passed legislation to preserve access to abortion, but several others intend to outlaw the practice as soon as possible. That may be sooner than later, given a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that calls for Roe v. Wade to be overturned.

It is still unclear whether the draft opinion, published Monday night by Politico, will be the court’s final decision. But officials in Colorado swiftly reacted to the leak and vowed to protect the state’s unrestricted access to the procedure.

"In light of the reported decision of the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, CO remains a state where freedom is respected and where any person has the ability to live, work, thrive, and raise a family on their own terms," said Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.