This week marks one year since the Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to an abortion.
On June 24, 2022, the high court issued its decision in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, stating that the U.S. Constitution does not confer a right to abortion.
According to the Society of Family Planning, legal abortions across the country decreased after Roe was overturned. At the same time, legal abortions happening in Colorado increased as people began to travel across the country more often to have abortions.
Mar Galvez Seminario found out they were pregnant on the day Roe was overturned.
"I was holding off on taking the test because I was afraid of what that would mean," Galvez Seminario said.
Galvez Seminario had a feeling they were pregnant, but waited to take a test hoping their feeling wasn't a reality.
"I found out when the Dobbs decision was made is because I— when that happened— I just had to know. So I took the test, and that's when I found out," Galvez Seminario said.
As a reproductive rights activist, Galvez Seminario has always paid close attention to abortion laws. Finding out about their own pregnancy made that work even more personal.
"I never want to be pregnant, just personally, I want to be a parent, but I never want to be pregnant. And I knew immediately that I needed an abortion," they said.
As the number of people receiving abortions in Colorado increased, Galvez Seminario found it difficult to get an in-person appointment for abortion pills within their preferred time frame.
Galvez Seminario, a Colorado resident, ended up settling for a completely online service instead.
"At that time, honestly, what I needed was just any sort of human contact in general, and for something so emotionally heavy as an abortion," Galvez Seminario said.
Aurea Bolaños Perea is with the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR).
The organization has been instrumental in the passage of reproductive healthcare bills in Colorado.
Bolaños Perea told Denver7 clinicians in the state are doing their best to manage the increase in people seeking abortion care.
"I get asked, like, 'Well, we're seeing this increase of patients in Colorado, what does this mean?' It really means we have a very successful infrastructure of care in this state that we are able to see so many patients," Bolaños Perea said. "But our clinicians and our doctors definitely need some support."
Colorado prepared for the overturning of Roe v. Wade by passing the Reproductive Health Equity Act in 2022. It sates, in part, “every pregnant individual has a fundamental right…to have an abortion… under the laws of the state.”
In 2023, three bills passed strengthening those protections.
Senate Bill 188 protects abortion patients and providers in Colorado from penalties from other states.
Senate Bill 189 expands health insurance coverage for abortion
Senate Bill 190 prohibits deceptive advertising and the use of abortion "reversal" pills in crisis pregnancy centers.
While Colorado has established abortion protections, attorney Kiki Council with The Lawyering Project said there is more work to be done across the country.
"Currently, 13 states have outright banned abortion, we predict legal experts across the states predict that up to 26 states will either ban or severely restrict abortion access," Council said. "What we're seeing is a disproportionate impact... on women of color on people that are at or below the poverty line, on disabled individuals, and on people who are veterans."
On the other hand, Colorado Right to Life says no state should have the ability to legalize abortion.
"Roe v. Wade being overturned was historic. But this is a human rights issue, which means it cannot be a states rights issue," says Will Duffy with Colorado Right to Life. "No state has the right to deprive anyone of life, including the unborn without due process of law."
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slavery was legal, but that didn't make it right. The same goes for abortion. The science is settled. Abortion is the intentional killing of a unique human being and killing an innocent person, even if it's before they are born is wrong no matter what the law says. So abortion must be stopped.
Galvez Seminario plans to continue their activism so others can have the freedom to make the choice they did.
"I know that I personally am not ready to be a parent at 23," Galvez Seminario said. "I think if I had not gotten the abortion, my life would have drastically changed."
