Colorado will not extradite women prosecuted for performing abortions

POLIS DECREES PROTECTION OF REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

Newsroom El Comercio de Colorado

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Jared Polis signed an Executive Order to protect the freedom and privacy of Coloradans. “We are taking needed action to protect and defend individual freedom and protect the privacy of Coloradans. This important step will ensure that Colorado’s thriving economy and workforce are not impacted based on personal health decisions that are wrongly being criminalized in other states,” said Colorado Governor.

This executive order was issued after the position of the Supreme Court of Justice in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization of June 2022. In a historic decision, the highest court held that the United States Constitution does not confer the right to abortion. And therefore, that court went on to annul both Roe v. Wade (1973) as well as Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992).

The threats

“In the wake of the wrong and misguided decision in Dobbs, numerous states have moved and will move to ban abortion outright, and many other states already have “trigger laws” that will ban abortion within 30 days of the Dobbs decision. This impending loss of freedom for people around the country poses a threat to the people of Colorado,” said Polis.

In the governor’s view, risks to Coloradans will arise to the extent that other states may seek to infringe on essential rights protected by Colorado law. Those other states would seek to impose criminal penalties or civil liability for conduct that they now prohibit but remains legal in Colorado.

The protection

The Governor’s order to the Department of Regulatory Affairs seeks to protect people who work in Colorado from any disciplinary action for performing an abortion or providing professional reproductive health care in Colorado or any other state. Additionally, the action makes clear that Colorado will not cooperate with criminal or civil investigations in other states for health decisions that are legal in Colorado.

“I will exercise the full extent of my discretion to decline requests for the arrest, surrender, or extradition of any person charged with a criminal violation of a law of another state where the violation alleged involves the provision of, assistance with, securing of, or receipt of reproductive health care, unless the acts forming the basis of the prosecution of the crime charged would also constitute a criminal offense under Colorado law,” Polis concludes.

Avoiding economic impact

Governor Polis wants to reduce the economic impact of persecuting people who exercise their reproductive rights. “Colorado is experiencing a labor shortage in many professions, and disqualifying people because they were prosecuted for taking actions in other states that are entirely legal under Colorado law would hurt our economy and our state,” he said.

“Colorado Nurses Association supports the Governor’s efforts to affirm women’s independent and autonomous decision making in access to all reproductive care, including abortion. We also support efforts to protect the licensees who provide these essential services,” said the Colorado Nurses Association.