EMILYs List Statement on Colorado Law Guaranteeing Abortion Rights

For Immediate Release
April 4, 2022

EMILY's List Statement on Colorado Law Guaranteeing Abortion Rights

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Gov. Jared Polis signed into law a bill guaranteeing the right to abortion and contraception in Colorado (H.B. 22-1279) ahead of the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that could overturn the precedent set by Roe v. Wade. Three women who were previously endorsed by EMILYs List, state Rep. Meg Froelich, state Rep. Daneya Esgar, and state Sen. Julie Gonzales, were the prime sponsors of H.B. 22-1279. Laphonza Butler, president of EMILYs List, released the following statement: 

“EMILYs List commends this proactive measure to safeguard abortion access in Colorado as Republican politicians continue to launch anti-abortion attacks across the country. With the U.S. Supreme Court positioned to overturn the precedent set by Roe v. Wade,  Colorado legislators have not only protected the reproductive freedom of their constituents, but also ensured that Colorado remains an abortion safe haven for those in surrounding states with near-total bans. We applaud the entire Colorado legislature, including candidates endorsed by EMILYs List Reps. Froelich, Esgar, and Yadira Caraveo and Sens. Gonzales and Brittany Pettersen for advancing social and economic equality. They are defending abortion access and guaranteeing the right to make decisions for our bodies and for our futures. 

“Colorado’s successful effort to protect abortion demonstrates the importance of a pro-choice majority down the ballot. In the 2022 election, EMILYs List is committed to electing Democratic pro-choice women like Rep. Caraveo and Sen. Pettersen, who will continue to ensure abortion is an option for anyone who chooses it.”

In 2018, EMILYs List helped flip the Colorado state Senate which secured the unified Democratic control necessary to codify this bill into law.

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $700 million to elect Democratic pro-choice women candidates. With a grassroots community of over five million members, EMILY's List helps Democratic women win competitive campaigns – across the country and up and down the ballot – by recruiting and training candidates, supporting and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running nearly $50 million in independent expenditures in the last cycle alone, and turning out women voters and voters of color to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country's first woman as vice president, 159 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 16 governors, and more than 1,300 women to state and local office. More than 40% of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. After the 2016 election, more than 60,000 women reached out to EMILY's List about running for office laying the groundwork for the next decade of candidates for local, state, and national offices. In our effort to elect more women in offices across the country, we have created our Run to Win program, expanded our training program, including a Training Center online, and trained thousands of women.