Capitol Coverage & State

2020 Election

The Aspen Public Radio Newsroom has chosen to focus on four specific issues for our election coverage: the COVID-19 pandemic, social justice/representation, climate change and land use/management.These issues were among the most important to voters, according to a Pew Research poll in August 2020. We also chose them because they are important to people who live in the Roaring Fork Valley. That’s especially true as many have seen the economy, and their livelihoods, take a hit because of the pandemic, the growing Latino population in the region hasn’t had someone from their community holding a countywide governmental office, wildfires have been ferocious this season in the state, and the oil and gas industry employs many people.Our central question while reporting this series was “What Can I Expect From My Government?” We set out to find a diverse group of people who could tell us their answers to that question.Our election series is scheduled for Oct. 20-23. You'll be able to hear the stories during Morning Edition and All Things Considered. All our content will also be available here. Many of the other stories you’ll find here are from our reporting partners. We wanted to provide information about Colorado's key ballot initiatives and races, and also share details about how you can take part in this historic election year.

Colorado Voters Reject Proposal To Restrict Abortions, Keeping State Among Few With Easy Access

KUNC | By Scott Franz

Published November 3, 2020 at 10:01 PM MST

Coloradans voters reject a ban on late-term abortions in the 2020 election.

Updated at 9:15 a.m. on 11/4/2020

Colorado voters rejected a measure that would have prevented women from getting an abortion after 22 weeks of pregnancy unless the procedure was needed to save the woman's life.

Proposition 115 failed 59% to 41% with 85% of votes tallied as of Wednesday morning.

As a result, Colorado will remain one of seven states in the country without restrictions on abortions.

“There is nothing in Proposition 115 that makes (women’s) health better,” said Stephanie Teal, an OB-GYN and family planning professor at the University of Colorado’s school of medicine. “Abortion bans have nothing to do with health, or medicine. They are purely designed to limit access to critical healthcare.”

Teal and other residents who successfully campaigned against the measure said it would harm women, who sometimes seek abortions after 22 weeks to protect their own health.

Proponents said abortions that late in pregnancy are “cruel” and come at a time when a fetus has a chance of surviving outside of the womb.

Colorado was the first state to decriminalize abortions in 1967 – and voters have now rejected four initiatives to restrict it since 2008.

Meanwhile, the abortions targeted by Proposition 115 are relatively rare despite the lack of restrictions against them.

According to records from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, only 140 of the 9,000 abortions reported last year occurred after 22 weeks of pregnancy.