CPR publishes a series of articles on the issues most important to Colorado voters the Voter Voices surveyand how the offices and questions on their ballot apply to them. All linked stories can be found in our voter guide.

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By Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, Denver Post

Abortion is a hot topic in the November election on multiple levels — but particularly on the Colorado ballot, which includes Amendment 79 — a proposed amendment that would enshrine the state's abortion protections in the Colorado Constitution.

Abortion access rules are currently in the hands of individual states following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 Roe v. Wade ruling, which had established a fundamental right to abortion nationwide for decades. Our ongoing Voter Voices poll in collaboration with CoLab and other media outlets in Colorado shows that abortion is among the top five issues among the thousands of voters who responded, with self-identified liberals most concerned about possible restrictions.

Since the Supreme Court ruling, 13 states – mostly in the US South – have either banned abortions or allowed existing abortion bans to go into effect. These are among the 21 states where the New York Times either banned the procedure or restricted it earlier in pregnancy than Roe v. Wade had allowed.

Colorado, where abortion services are available at every stage of pregnancy, is among 29 states where abortions are largely legal — either by law or because bans have been blocked by the courts — although some states have restrictions later in pregnancy, The Times says.

According to the Pew Research Center, there is an overwhelming majority in favor of abortion access in the United States. This year, 63 percent said abortion should be legal in all or most cases. This isn't a gender-specific issue either: Both men and women tend to be about equally supportive of abortion access – 61 percent and 64 percent, respectively.

Religion serves as a dividing line on this issue: 73 percent of white evangelical Protestants say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, while majorities of white non-evangelical Protestants, black Protestants and Catholics say abortion should be illegal in Should be legal in all or most cases In most cases, Pew reports. The highest support for legal abortion was 86 percent among people with no religious affiliation.

Stephanie Lang, a liberal living in Denver, was among voters who ranked abortion as their top issue in their response to the Voter Voices poll.

Lang is at an age where she is considering pregnancy, and she says having access to abortion care means there is a plan in place in case an unexpected medical emergency occurs.

“There are a lot of unknowns in a decision like this,” she said in an interview.

Lang also contends that protecting abortion access in Colorado would benefit the entire region. “If Colorado has this, it will be a safe haven for the states around us,” she said.

If abortion is a top issue for you – no matter what your views on it – your vote has the most impact here.

The race for president

The U.S. president can influence abortion by proposing laws, signing or vetoing bills, and issuing administrative regulations. The chief executive also appoints judges and judges to interpret the laws on the subject. This year's major party presidential candidates vary widely on abortion.

Former President Donald Trump, once again the Republican nominee, has taken changing positions on his abortion stance. As president, he nominated three of the five Supreme Court justices who had condemned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization and assumed responsibility for overturning the ruling. He believes that abortion should be an issue left to states.

“It is now the voice of the people; It’s not embedded in the federal government,” Trump said during the Sept. 10 presidential debate. “I have done a great service.”

Trump recently said he would veto a nationwide abortion ban, saying he believes in exceptions, including for rape, incest and situations that threaten the lives of pregnant mothers. But he also supports restrictions: In his home state of Florida, he has publicly stated that he will vote against a ballot measure this fall that would repeal that state's six-week abortion ban.

His wife, former first lady Melania Trump, recently announced her support for abortion access. “Undoubtedly, there is no room for compromise when it comes to this essential right that all women possess from birth: individual freedom,” she said in an Oct. 3 video.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, has also vowed to block a federal abortion ban. And as part of her platform, she has committed to signing any congressional bill that would restore nationwide protections for abortion access.

“You don’t have to give up your faith or your deeply held beliefs to agree: the government shouldn’t tell a woman what to do,” Harris said in an Oct. 6 podcast interview.

Harris said the issue also includes access to in vitro fertilization treatments, contraception and other methods of reproductive health care.

The congressional elections

Congress, along with the president, has more power in the post-Roe era to enact nationwide protections and abortion restrictions depending on whether the House and Senate can reach an agreement — and the president signs the resulting laws. Congress can also decide whether to maintain, amend or repeal the Hyde Amendment, which in most cases prohibits the use of federal funds to fund abortions.

Candidates seeking to represent Colorado in Congress in November's election are divided along party lines on the abortion issue. All Democrats running in the state's eight congressional districts expressed support for restoring statewide access through the passage of legislation. Republicans largely say they oppose such legislation, and several said they would support national measures restricting abortion.

“I am appalled at what is happening to women across the country because of Trump’s abortion bans,” U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen, a Democrat in the 7th Congressional District, wrote in a questionnaire response to The Denver Post, adding, “I co-sponsored legislation on this . “Codify access to abortion care in Colorado, and I am committed to making it happen in Congress.”

Several Republicans said states are the only place where such decisions can be made.

“The Supreme Court has returned abortion decisions to the states, and it should stay that way,” John Fabbricatore, the Republican candidate for the 6th Congressional District, wrote in his response to the Post’s questionnaire.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, for her part, is pushing for a federal law that would restrict access to abortions. She represents the 3rd District, but is running for election in the 4th District.

“Life begins at conception, and I will always defend life,” Boebert wrote in her response to the Post’s questionnaire. “I fully support a federal pro-life law that protects the lives of the most vulnerable members of our society.”

State legislative races

Both the executive and legislative branches of state government are currently under Democratic control. The House of Representatives has a Democratic supermajority of 46-19, while Democrats in the Senate are just one vote away from a supermajority.

If Democrats can increase their lead in the Senate by at least one seat in this year's election, they will have the power to place constitutional amendments on the ballot without requiring Republican votes. Republicans are working hard to prevent that.

If voters pass Amendment 79, state lawmakers would have fewer options to change Colorado's abortion protections. If that fails, lawmakers would still have the ability to regulate abortion at the state level.

Several Democrats running in the House's most contentious races, such as Rep. Stephanie Vigil in District 16 and Rep. Bob Marshall in District 43, are underscoring their commitment to abortion access. But Republican candidates in these districts tend to omit the issue of abortion from their campaign materials, instead prioritizing other issues such as crime, immigration and the economy.

In state Senate races, Democratic candidates, including Cole Buerger in District 5 and Vivian Smotherman in District 6, are also vocal about protecting abortion access, while their political opponents are more cautious on the issue – those in Colorado, for now seems to be resolved under democratic control.

Local races

Local elected officials have some authority to decide whether to spend local government funds on abortion services or enact some local regulations, but almost all action on the issue this year is at the state level.

Anti-abortion officials have perhaps been most outspoken in Pueblo, where a city council member has made several attempts to enforce ordinances banning the procedure within the city. The latest attempt was defeated this week, with opponents warning that any ban would be immediately met with a lawsuit from the state.

Ballot measures

Here's where Colorado voters will have the most direct say this year: Amendment 79 would increase Colorado's existing protections for abortion access in the state constitution. It would also allow state and local governments to fund abortion services by repealing an amendment passed by voters in 1984 that prohibited the use of public money for that purpose.

This would potentially allow the state to include abortion coverage in both Medicaid and state employee health insurance, but this would require further action.

Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom, led by abortion rights groups, requested that the measure be placed on the state ballot. Vote No. 79, which includes anti-abortion groups like Colorado Right to Life, is at the forefront of the opposition campaign.

To pass, the proposal needs approval from 55 percent of voters because it would change the constitution. Failure of the measure would mean that the 1984 language would be retained in the constitution and the power to make future abortion decisions would be placed in the hands of the state legislature.