DENVER — When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Colorado abortion providers began to scramble — they had some plans in place, but they knew the demand for their services would go up significantly for people from other states. Advocacy groups also increased efforts to expand access through state legislation.
Now a year after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling that put the question of abortion rights in the hands of individual states, Colorado providers say their fears have been actualized. Abortion funds to help patients have tripled the amount of money spent to help out-of-state patients, wait times for services have gone up, and the number of people seeking abortion care from other states has increased significantly. The “impact on Colorado has been devastating,” according to reproductive rights group Cobalt.
“Abortion is health care,” Cobalt’s statement on the one-year anniversary read. “That’s not a slogan. That’s a statement of fact, and we are seeing the effects in Colorado of dozens of states all around us banning a health care procedure.”
