As the one-year anniversary approaches since the Supreme Court eliminated federal abortion protections, Colorado’s attorney general committed to defending the state’s status as an abortion sanctuary. 

Attorney General Phil Weiser released a statement on Friday – the day before the June 24 anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling which overturned Roe v. Wade. 

“The Dobbs decision has created chaos and anxiety for women seeking to make their own decisions about their bodies and their healthcare,” Weiser said. “This has resulted in dire and even deadly consequences, as doctors have confronted barriers to providing life-saving health care.”

Weiser praised Coloradans for “resoundingly affirm(ing) that we value and protect reproductive freedom and safe and legal abortion care.” 

Colorado lawmakers enshrined abortion as a fundamental right shortly before the Dobbs ruling and, earlier this year, passed three laws designed to protect and increase access to abortion, making Colorado among the strongest states in the nation for abortion rights. 

Weiser also noted the impact abortion bans in other states have had on Colorado, particularly regarding the increased national reliance on Colorado abortion providers. Last year, the number of abortions performed in Colorado reached 13,771 – a 15-year record and a 20% rise from 2021, KDVR reported.

In addition, some of Colorado’s abortion laws are in the middle of legal challenges, including a newly-passed ban on abortion “reversal” pills and a decades-old law providing a buffer distance to keep anti-abortion activists away from clinics. 

Nevertheless, Weiser said the state will continue pushing forward. 

“In Colorado, we will continue to safeguard access to reproductive care by fighting attempts to take away the freedom to access reproductive health care,” Weiser said. “We will stand against these persistent and cruel attempts to control women’s bodies and erode personal freedoms.”