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Courtney Keyes

Colorado Amendment 79: Right to Abortion and Health Insurance Coverage Initiative

Many Coloradans have already returned their ballots, and I expect most voters are dead set in their decision on Amendment 79. I write in hopes of reaching anyone that remains unsure.


Coloradans don’t need the government to make their decisions for them.


Abortion bans limit and complicate personal medical decisions that are best left to patients and their doctors. In the two years since Dobbs, 41 states have enacted abortion bans ranging from total ban to restrictive time limits. Colorado’s Reproductive Health Equity Act provides only partial protection against this threat.


Amendment 79 proposes amending the Colorado Constitution to:


1)    make abortion a constitutional right (add Section 32 to Article II); and

2)    repeal the ban on state and local funding for abortion services (repeal Section 50 of Article V).


Ensuring the right to abortion in the Colorado Constitution adds an additional layer of security beyond the Reproductive Health Equity Act. Repealing the ban on funding for abortion services allows those on state insurance plans, including government employees, to receive the same services as those on private plans. Both changes would avoid in Colorado the tragic results we have seen in other states: delays in standard pregnancy care, unnecessary surgery, rushed medical decisions, abortion services limited to the privileged, increased risk and decreased access related to infertility treatment and high-risk pregnancies, and additional distress for those already mourning a lost pregnancy.


Further, passing Amendment 79 would send the message that Coloradans refuse to succumb to a backslide in our individual rights. We will not return to a time when contraceptives were illegal or where interracial and same-sex marriages were prohibited. We will not return to a time when women were not allowed to open their own bank accounts. We will not give up our right to vote, and we will use it to protect our freedom.



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Courtney Keyes is an independent attorney and founder of Keyes Legal Consulting LLC, specializing in privacy, security, technology, and business law. She worked full time as a business analyst while she attended the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.  This work fueled her passion for the cross section of technology and the law, and Courtney now applies her analyst experience to help new and growing businesses navigate complex legal challenges and achieve their objectives.

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