CO Bishops: Vote NO on Amendment 79
- Colorado Catholic Conference
- Oct 30, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 18
Colorado Bishops Ask Catholic Faithful to Vote Against Amendment 79 "Right to Abortion"
The Colorado Catholic Bishops Ask Catholic Faithful to Vote AGAINST Amendment 79 “Right to Abortion” Attached are three separate letters from Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila of the Archdiocese of Denver, Bishop James R. Golka of the Diocese of Colorado Springs, and Bishop Stephen J. Berg of the Diocese of Pueblo, requesting the Colorado Faithful vote against Amendment 79 “Right to Abortion.” All four Bishops in Colorado are united in their warning that Amendment 79 removes commonsense safeguards to abortion access, including: Removal of parental notification:
Amendment 79 ballot language states that the “government shall not deny, impede, or discriminate against the exercise of that right ” According to legal scholars, this means that any law that “impedes” that perceived right is invalidated. This will be determined by the Courts, but the language is intentional, and Colorado courts have a history of proactively affirming abortion laws. Because parental notification laws contradict Amendment 79, it is likely those laws will be removed. Furthermore, Planned Parenthood’s former policy research organization, the Guttmacher Institute, has literature that lists “parental rights” as a restriction to abortion access. [1]
Removing parental notification from the constitution means that a minor could be coerced into abortion by her boyfriend or school counselor, and her parents will not have a right to know. This also means, children who are sex trafficked could be brought to a Colorado abortion clinic, have an abortion without a requirement to let their guardian know, and be back with their trafficker forced to continue their slavery. Abortion on Healthy Mothers with Healthy Babies:
Amendment 79 goes far beyondRoe v. Wade (1973) and Colorado’s 2022 Reproductive Health Equity Act (RHEA), which permits abortion for all nine months. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) data show that there were 486 abortions at or after 21 weeks’ gestation in 2022 – this is 4 percent of all abortions in Colorado (3 percent higher than the national average). With today’s medical advancements, babies are able to survive outside the womb and could be safely delivered as an alternative to abortion as early as 21 weeks. [2]
Abortion clinics are currently unregulated in Colorado, posing a severe health risk to women undergoing the surgical procedure. Amendment 79 will ensure no regulations are ever placed on abortion clinics, even compared to heavily regulated hospitals, because that would be considered an “impeding” abortion access. This is important considering the number of surgical abortions that occur in Colorado each year – even on healthy mothers with healthy babies. Boulder abortionist Warren Hern has stated that he conducts roughly 350 surgical abortions per year, and 50 percent are on healthy mothers with healthy babies.[3] Denver abortionist Benedict Landgren has stated that abortion activists should not “stigmatize late abortion” on healthy mothers with healthy babies.[4] This is not about fetal anomalies.
Since Dobbs v. Jackson (2022), data from the Institute for Family Planning estimate about 2,600 surgical abortions are conducted on women in Colorado every month – that’s over 30,000 per year.[5] This number does not include miscarriage or extra-uterine pregnancy, which are not abortions because miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy do not result in the intentional killing of a preborn child. The number of babies lost to abortion in Colorado will increase with the enactment of Amendment 79. Direct Taxpayer Funding of Abortion:
Amendment 79 removes Section 50 of Article V of the Colorado constitution, which currently prohibits public funding for abortion. Last year, the Colorado legislature passed SB23-189,[6] which mandates insurance coverage for abortion, including Medicaid for private providers. The only reason to completely remove Sec. 50 of Article V is to open the door for direct taxpayer funding for abortion. Proponents could have introduced a ballot initiative to create an exemption for public employees under Article V, but they are trying to remove it entirely. This is likely because the intent is for the Colorado legislature to reconvene in January 2025 and pass a multi-million-dollar bill to fund abortion procedures and travel with our taxpayer dollars.
The abortion advocates in the state legislature have said they want Colorado to become an abortion destination[7] sponsor of Amendment 79 COBALT (a private abortion fund) announced it is capping spending on abortion procedures and travel but called for additional assistance.[8] This is not without precedent. Oregon passed a $15 million taxpayer-funded program for abortion procedures and travel in 2022.[9] Colorado will likely do the same if 79 is enacted.
If Amendment 79 “Right to Abortion” is successful, then Colorado will become the most extreme abortion state in America. It is a moral obligation for Catholics to shape the moral character of our community, state, and country through voting. Our faith maintains a hierarchy of values when voting on candidates and issues, which is listed in our 2024 voter guide.[10] The sanctity of life is the preeminent issue on the ballot. The Colorado Bishops’ expectations and directions are clear: Vote ‘No’ on AMENDMENT 79. Please visit www.RightToKnowCO.com to learn more and support the campaign against 79. Citations of data:
[1]Forouzan, Kimya. “Midyear 2024 State Policy Trends: Many US States Attack Reproductive Health Care, as Other States Fight Back,” in Guttmacher Institute, June 2024.
[2]Ahmad, Kaashif; Frey, Charlotte; Fierro, Mario; Kenton, Alexander; and Placencia, Alexander. “Two-Year Neurodevelopmental Outcome of an Infant Born at 21 Weeks,” in the American Academy of Pediatrics, 2017.
[3]Godfrey, Elaine. “The Abortion Absolutist” in The Atlantic, 12 May 2023.
[4] Landgren, Benedict on X (twitter) reply to Dr. Jen Gunter on 28 June 2024.
[5]Institute for Family Planning, “#WeCount Report: April 2022 – Dec. 2023,” 14 May 2024.
[6]SB23-189 “Increasing Access To Reproductive Health Care”
[7] Former State Sen. Brittany Petterson (@petterson4co) on X (twitter) on 23 March 2022.
[8] Brown, Jennifer. “3 Charts that Explain How Colorado’s Largest Abortion Fund is Spending its Money,” in Colorado Sun, 19 August 2024.
[9] Office of the Speaker. “Oregon Reproductive Health Equity Fund Will Counter Attacks on Abortion Access,” News Release, 15 March 2022.
[10] Colorado Catholic Conference 2024 Voter Guide: https://cocatholic.org/resources/voter-guide/
Comments