COLORADO — Saturday marks one year since the overturn of Roe v Wade. Since then, Colorado has served as a safe haven, providing access to abortion for out-of-state women.
The state performed over 14,000 abortions in 2022, according to the Colorado Department of Health and Environment. That is the most since 1985. Six different states had more than 100 residents come to Colorado to get an abortion in 2022. That includes Wyoming, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.
I spoke with Cobalt, a local nonprofit that helps women who are looking to receive an abortion. Here is what they have seen:
The Cobalt Abortion Fund spent just over $206,000, serving 1,154 women in 2021. The same abortion fund spent three times that amount, over $737,000, in 2022. $200,000 went to practical travel support to out-of-state women. They helped over 1,700 women get abortions.
“We have been feeling the impact since last June. Even though we are in what’s considered a safe state here, our providers are absolutely overloaded after the overturn of Dobbs. We are seeing patients from all over the country, and we are seeing patients having to have their appointments pushed back because abortion is time sensitive,” said Sydney Haney, a Cobalt organizer.
While these numbers show an increase in women coming to the state for procedures, there are other groups in Southern Colorado, like Focus on the Family, who want women to consider other options, including adoption and counseling.
“We know that there are pregnancy centers up and down the 1-25 corridor who are here to serve those women in the most vulnerable state when they are really wrestling with a lot of the decisions they are making and so we love that they are coming to Colorado, but we really want them to see that there are other options and there are so many resources available to them,” said Robyn Chambers, the vice president for Advocacy of Children for Focus on the Family.
Services from both Cobalt and Focus on the Family are free for women who are looking to receive help and guidance.
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