Editor:
As our state continues to address the harsh economic and public health concerns of COVID-19, the last thing we need is a restriction on any type of health care service, including abortion. Proposition 115 is a one-size-fits-all ban on abortion that has no exceptions in cases of rape or incest, threats to the woman’s health, or a lethal fetal diagnosis. Placing these restrictions on women and their families, especially as they continue to navigate a pandemic, is cruel.
Voters in Colorado have consistently rejected abortion bans three times over — in 2008, in 2010 and in 2014. In many cases, women who make the decision to have an abortion later in pregnancy do so because of a serious, complex health complication. Patients must be able to weigh all of their medical options when faced with a difficult pregnancy outcome. It’s clear that the people pushing this ban don’t care about women or their families, but are driven solely by their anti-abortion agenda, at the expense of Coloradans. Some backers of Proposition 115 have even admitted that it will serve as a stepping stone to banning abortion outright in Colorado.
Licensed health care professionals should be the ones making recommendations about health care, not politicians or interest groups. We know what’s best for our own lives, and we certainly don’t need people who have never walked in our shoes to make important medical decisions for us. That’s why I’m asking voters to vote no on Proposition 115.
Max Mapes
Denver