Colorado leaders reacted this week to a leaked draft decision from the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the landmark decision Roe v. Wade, which established a constitutional right to abortion.
The report on the leaked draft by Politico comes as states across the country prepare legislation in anticipation of the court’s ruling. Some Republican-led states have passed laws restricting abortions, while Democratic-led states seek to be havens for abortion access.
Gov. Jared Polis last month signed the Reproductive Health Equity Act into law, which protects women’s access to abortions in Colorado.
“While states like Texas, Florida, and Arizona are engaging in the unwelcome intrusion of government into deeply personal and religious decisions, Colorado remains a refuge where individual rights are respected and where any person has the ability to live, work, thrive, and raise a family on their own terms,” Polis said in a statement Monday night following the Politico report.
“While this is extremely disappointing news, representing a radical shift in American life away from individual freedom, in Colorado we will continue to fight for and respect the right to make decisions about your own body and medical health,” he continued.
U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Denver, one of the leaders of the House Pro-Choice Caucus, described the leaked draft decision as a “shattering blow to the right to access abortion care in the U.S.”
“Everyone should have the right to make their own personal health care decisions that impact their lives, health and futures,” DeGette said. “And it is chilling to think this court is unwilling to protect those rights.”
Colorado GOP Chairwoman Kristi Burton Brown said if the draft becomes the official opinion of the court, “then countless lives have been saved.”
“Like the majority of Americans, Republicans believe that every single life is precious and that every child is worth saving,” she said. “Equal rights are not equal until they extend to every human being.”
Burton Brown also criticized the leak as “a blatant act of sabotage aimed at bullying Supreme Court justices and undermining the legitimacy of the court.”
Chief Justice John Roberts has ordered an investigation into the leak, which he called an “egregious breach” of trust.
“We at the Court are blessed to have a workforce – permanent employees and law clerks alike – intensely loyal to the institution and dedicated to the rule of law,” Roberts said. “Court employees have an exemplary and important tradition of respecting the confidentiality of the judicial process and upholding the trust of the Court. This was a singular and egregious breach of that trust that is an affront to the Court and the community of public servants who work here.”
This article was originally posted on Colorado leaders react to leaked Supreme Court draft decision overturning Roe