By Juliana Abbrescia, Kyle Larson and Hannah Prince

Colorado Proposition 115, the 22-Week Abortion Ban Initiative, is on the ballot in Colorado as an initiated state statue on Nov. 3, 2020. Colorado, as well as six other states — Alaska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Vermont— and Washington, D.C., do not restrict abortion after a certain point in a pregnancy, according to Ballotpedia. These threshold points include from fetal viability, last menstrual period, post-fertilization, or post-implantation.

Every year in Colorado, anti-abortion interest groups and politicians push new legislation on reproductive rights, especially abortion, but have yet to succeed.

Registered issues committees who support the measure include Coalition for Women and Children, Alliance for Life and End Birthday Abortions Colorado. U.S. Representative Ken Buck (R) supports the measure.

“This is a measured and reasonable proposition that would be supported by a vast majority of voters,” said Erin Behrens, a co-signer of this proposition along with Giuliana Day. “In a recent Gallup poll said that 74% of Americans want restrictions on abortions in the third trimester. And like them, I think that some restrictions are reasonable.”

A more recent Gallup poll found that 77% of Americans want restrictions on abortions in the third trimester in May 2020.

Registered issues committees who oppose the measure include Abortion Access for All and Vote No On 115. The campaign Vote No On 115 states, “Prop 115 is a one-size-fits-all mandate that ignores the uniqueness of each pregnancy and allows politics to dictate personal health and decisions that should be left to patients and their doctors.”

In an interview with The Bold, Michael Carter, communications manager of New Era Colorado, said, “Proposition 115 is an attack on many of the values young people care about the most. It threatens to strip away our bodily autonomy by imposing a cruel abortion ban without exceptions even in the most extreme circumstances. Pregnancy can be complicated, and everybody should have the right to make their own personal medical decisions.”

Carter continued that the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg makes the stakes higher than ever, and “we must protect reproductive rights in Colorado — not just for Coloradans, but for the nation.”

Understanding a “YES” Vote vs. “NO” Vote

• This initiative is trying to create a limit on the current abortion rules which state that a woman has no restrictions on when she can or can’t get an abortion in Colorado.
• As of now, in Colorado a woman can get an abortion at any point in her pregnancy. This initiative would ban an abortion for a woman after 22 weeks of pregnancy and the doctor that performs the abortion would suffer criminal penalties. The only exception that would make it legal for an abortion to occur after 22 weeks is in cases where the pregnant woman’s life is in immediate danger.
• Voting “YES”
  Voting YES on this initiative means that you support banning abortions after the fetus reaches 22 weeks of age.
  A “YES” vote will change the current Colorado law to restrict abortions after 22 weeks of pregnancy.
• Voting “NO”
  Voting NO on this initiative means that you do not support banning abortions after the fetus reaches 22 weeks of age.
  A “NO” vote will maintain the current Colorado law that does not restrict abortion after a certain point in a pregnancy.

How does this affect college-aged students?

• 2 million college aged women get pregnant every year (18-24)
• 26% undergraduate students are parents
• Less than 1 in 10 students with children complete a degree within 6 years of entry
• Unplanned births account for 1 in 10 dropouts (community college, female students)
• More than half of all abortions are women in their 20’s
• 18% of pregnancies, excluding miscarriage, end in abortion(estimated)
• Reducing access for safe abortions affects lower income students, as they will have to spend more money and travel farther
• 1 in 7 women say they have had abortions in order to continue their education

Sources: Pregnant on Campus and Insight into Diversity