FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEAPRIL 7, 2023
Contact:
Aurea Bolaños Perea, (303) 578-2601, aurea@colorlatina.org
Laura Chapin, (202) 236-6161, Laura@cobaltadvocates.org
Fawn Bolak, (407) 952-1892, Fawn.bolak@pprm.org
Camila Navarrette, (323) 423-5898, camila@neweracolorado.org
Kayla Frawley, kayla@progressnowcolorado.org
COLORADO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, RIGHTS, AND JUSTICE COALITION STATEMENT ON TEXAS’ AHM V. FDA RULING
DENVER, CO – The Colorado Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice Coalition has released a statement in response to the Court’s decision on medication abortion:
The freedom to fully control our bodies, lives, and futures is vital to all of us. We should be able to make decisions about pregnancy without barriers or political interference. Mifepristone is safe, and effective, and has been used by more than five million people since the FDA approved it more than 20 years ago. Mifepristone has helped ensure that patients are able to make their own private medical decisions, and it has expanded access to reproductive health care — something that is very clearly under threat in this country.
“This decision is an attack on people seeking abortion care and pro-abortion rights states like Colorado,” said Karen Middleton, President of Cobalt. “It amounts to Mitch McConnell getting a national abortion ban through the courts that he can’t get through Congress. It puts extremist politics above science and medicine. With Roe overturned, Colorado has seen a flood of patients coming here for abortion care. Our Cobalt Abortion Fund has exponentially increased both procedure and practical support for anyone who needs an abortion and comes to us for help. Paying for medication abortion has been a critical part of that. Abortion is health care. We will continue to support and advocate for patients who need abortion care in Colorado.”
“The Interfaith Alliance of Colorado was formed with a mission to promote justice and religious liberty,” said Shara Smith, Executive Director of Interfaith Alliance. “This decision stands in stark opposition to these ideals. Every person has the right to make decisions about their own healthcare in accordance with their own faith and values. We are heartbroken and worried about the many communities that will have this right taken away from them with this decision. However, we have also never been more emboldened to use our collective faith as a force for good.”
“The option of self-managed abortion can empower us to end a pregnancy on our terms. This means we get to decide if, when, and how to end a pregnancy using safe, effective methods to self-manage our care,” said Dusti Gurule, President and CEO of the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights. “A core tenant of Reproductive Justice is about self-determination – to determine what the best decisions over our bodies are. Self-managed abortion offers a path forward for abortion access that puts power in our hands.”
“This Supreme Court decision is yet another attack on young people’s bodily autonomy and right to a future with safe, accessible, and affordable health care,” said Nicole Hensel, executive director of New Era Colorado. “Young people overwhelmingly support a person’s right to receive an abortion, including a self-managed abortion, and are not afraid to show up to town halls, state legislatures, or the polls to demand their rights be protected and respected. This decision has sealed what the next generation of political leaders demand: for our bodies and reproductive choices to truly become our own.”
“This decision is devastating and compounds the public health crisis created after Roe was overturned,” said Taylor Pendergrass, Director of Advocacy and Strategic Alliances at the ACLU of Colorado. “Anti-abortion extremists are using the courts, statehouses, and all means possible to accomplish their agenda. They will not stop until the government bans abortion and controls our reproductive health care. We’re calling on the courts to dismiss this case because it lacks merit and undermines our freedoms. We’ll keep fighting to make sure that anyone can access to abortion, because abortion is essential healthcare.”
“It is unconscionable that this politically-driven lawsuit, decided by a Trump judge installed on a party-line vote, will deny a medication abortion drug to people nationwide,” said Sara Lu Loflin, Executive Director of ProgressNow Colorado. “As someone who had an abortion that literally saved my life, and someone who has taken the drug this judge just banned, I can personally speak to the fact that mifepristone is safe, effective, and a critical part of reproductive health care. This is a cruel, politically motivated attack on abortion care access that has no basis in scientific or medical evidence. Politicians and judges cannot substitute their own political agenda for the FDA’s medical and scientific recommendations – including on medication abortion. This case is setting a dangerous precedent. It should be challenged on both legal and ethical grounds.”
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