DENVER — People who support the right to abortion gathered outside the Colorado Capitol building on Tuesday.
The Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion on a Mississippi abortion case has caused an uproar throughout the country since Politico first reported on it Monday. As it is written now, the opinion would strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which protects the right to an abortion.
Thousands of people showed up for Tuesday's march and stayed into the evening. It was the largest gathering we've seen on the steps of the Colorado Capitol since the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.
People marched through the streets of Denver yelling things like "my body, my choice" and "Roe can't go." After several hours of protesting on the Capitol steps, they marched around downtown for about an hour Tuesday evening.
Protesters said the leaked information from the Supreme Court is not surprising, and they’re here to stand up for reproductive rights.
“Access to abortion is something that needs to be fiercely protected," Kate Kelly with New Era Colorado said. “Especially this year, we’ve just seen so many abortion bans being proposed across the country, and it’s something that has just caused disproportionate harm to communities, specifically low-income communities and BIPOC communities.”
Kelly said overturning Roe v. Wade would mean turning back the clock 50 years.
“Just by overturning this law does not mean you are getting rid of abortion," Kelly said. "You are not getting rid of the fact that people need abortions.”
> The video below aired at 4 p.m. Tuesday
Isabel Cruz, board member of the Colorado Doula Project, said they're devastated about how the BIPOC community will be affected if abortion rights are rescinded.
“We know who in our society has their choices constrained. It is the people at the margins. It’s Black, Indigenous, people of color. It is low-income people. It is people who do not have the same choices as those with privilege because of the systems of oppression that have been in place since the onset of colonization," Cruz said. "Abortion is just one piece of the framework of trying to make sure that people on the margins, BIPOC people, low-income people are not able to have full autonomy over what their futures look like.”
Cruz said they're already seeing an overwhelming demand from out-of-state people seeking abortions in Colorado.
“We at Colorado Doula Project are a pro-abortion organization because abortion is at the center of what we do. Abortion is healthcare. Abortion is not a dirty word," Cruz said. “We are going to do everything we can to make sure people have the resources they need.”
Cruz said no matter what happens at the federal level, they will continue to serve their communities.
“We also know that we as community need to rally together to support people with resources, support people with love, as they are making the choices that they need for themselves and for their families," Cruz said.
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