COLORADO, USA — According to preliminary data provided by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), Colorado conducted 14,529 abortions in 2023. That's about a 2.6% increase from the previous year and the most since 1985.
About a third of those abortions were given to people who traveled from out of state, including a number of people from Oklahoma.
"They still need access to the same amount of healthcare that every man in this state receives," said Kensey Wright a board member of Oklahoma's Roe Fund. It's a group that financially assists individuals seeking abortions.
Since abortion is illegal in Oklahoma, they work with clinics to help pay for women from Oklahoma seeking an abortion.
"We provide grants to several facilities in Colorado," Wright added. :Colorado actually has one of the very few clinics in the nation that provide late term abortion care."
Since Roe was overturned, Colorado has seen the number of patients traveling from Oklahoma rise. According to CDPHE data in 2021, 13 people that lived in Oklahoma received an abortion in Colorado. That number jumped to 198 in 2022 and slightly dropped to 181 abortions in 2023.
Despite abortion clinics in Kansas being closer for many Oklahoma people, demand is so high Wright said some are headed west.
"It doesn't surprise me and if any of these pending laws actually pass and are signed into effect those numbers are going up," she added.
Oklahoma has had a number of bills introduced that would further their abortion restrictions. They include HB 3216, which would create a database to identify women that have received abortions. It would also limit certain contraceptives currently available.
HB 3013 would allow prosecutors to charge people who posses or deliver abortion-inducing drugs with felony trafficking charges.
"People are still going to get this care," Wright said. "Hopefully they have the resources to get it done safely."
Oklahoma is not the only state with restrictive laws. Texas residents account for 67% of out-of-state people that received abortions in Colorado in 2023.
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