'Here we go again': On 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, abortion remains a political hot potato

Jan. 21—Fifty years ago, the United States withdrew troops from the war in Vietnam, Watergate hearings began, The Exorcist became the top-grossing movie, Elvis Presley was considered the most famous person in America, and the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion as a constitutional right.

Fifty years later, the latter remains as divisive as when the landmark decision came down on Jan. 22, 1973, and neither proponents nor opponents can believe where the right to abortion stands today.

Roe v. Wade appeared to solidify abortion rights as a done deal, said Mary Lou Makepeace, Colorado Springs' first and only female mayor, who held the post from 1997 to 2003.

"I thought when Roe v. Wade passed, it was settled law — even (seated Supreme Court Justice Brett) Kavanaugh said that," Makepeace said. "Apparently, what the Supreme Court decides, they can end."

Six months ago, in ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the nation's highest court agreed that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, which overturned the Roe v. Wade judgment and returned authority to regulate abortion to individual states.

Though known to be a possibility with the changing dynamics of the Supreme Court, last year's decision is "hard for many of us to believe this is happening," said Richard Skorman, former Colorado Springs vice mayor and city councilmember, who's also an abortion-rights supporter.

"People thought about it as codified," he said. "Now the problem is what do we do and what can we do."

Roe v. Wade seemed like one of those decisions that could never be changed, agreed a woman named Terri, who declined to give her last name because she said she has been harassed for her beliefs.

Terri belongs to a group known as Sidewalk Advocates for Life and regularly prays for an end to abortion as she strolls along the sidewalks near the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood clinic, which provides abortion and other medical services.

"Sometimes, you pray, and you pray and you pray, and you don't think you see anything, but then you realize it's working," Terri said last week while taking a break from her in-motion meditation.

"The Bible says all things are possible with God," she said, "and God is faithful."

A fundamental disagreement

Colorado Springs resident Joseph Martone said after a half- century, he's surprised that abortion remains a political hot potato.

"It shouldn't be a political issue; it's a moral issue," he said last week, while stationed on the sidewalk that leads to Planned Parenthood off Centennial Boulevard and West Fillmore Street.

He's there at least twice a week, no matter rain, shine or snow.

Martone hangs banners with messages like: "Life Begins at Conception and Ends at Planned Parenthood."

He draws crosses on the surrounding ground using salt blessed by a priest, small stones and chalk.

He talks to anyone driving or walking by who seems interested in hearing about options to abortion and assistance that's available in the community. He hands out flyers, socks and granola bars while arguing that abortion is not a good choice for anyone.

"Come talk to us, don't believe the things they say at Planned Parenthood — it's not a blob of tissue," he said. "I get that people are struggling financially, but there are people who will help you."

He offers to buy people coffee and talk, and he says many people take him up on the offer. He says he's accompanied teenagers in telling their parents about a pregnancy and finds them monetary and material support.

Martone said his anti-abortion work, for which he's not paid but supported by prayer and donations, has been successful in helping quite a few people change their minds about having an abortion.

Martone said he also is subjected to obscene gestures and profanities and threats shouted out of car windows. Even though he's disabled, Martone has had some of his signs vandalized and gotten into physical altercations.

"If only for one life saved, it would be worth it," he said.

Violence struck the Planned Parenthood clinic in November 2015, when accused shooter Robert Dear Jr. killed three people, including a police officer, and wounded nine people, saying he was "upset with them performing abortions and then selling of baby parts," according to the arrest warrant. Dear has yet to be found competent to stand trial.

Conversely, protesters angry about last June's action on Roe v. Wade attacked pregnancy centers such as Life Choices in Longmont, with the FBI announcing last week the reward for identifying people responsible for vandalism and arson at the building has increased up to $25,000. Spray-painted on the building were the words, "if abortions aren't safe, neither are you."

Some abortion-rights proponents also hold Martone's view that abortion should not be a fiery debate among politicians and left to lawmakers to decide.

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"It's religious-based," Skorman said of the topic.

"But some people who aren't religious are concerned about abortion and some who are religious aren't," he said. "Even religious doctrine differs."

Makepeace believes abortion should be a personal decision, made between a woman and her partner and doctor, and "not someone in Congress who doesn't understand limited resources."

"This is not the answer to prevent abortions," she said of the change in federal law.

Six months after the Roe v. Wade rescission, 24 states have enacted restrictions on abortion or are expected to do so, reports the Guttmacher Institute, which was founded in 1968 as part of Planned Parenthood and now is an independent nonprofit focusing on sexual and reproductive rights and health.

Restrictive abortion measures failed in elections last August in Kansas and last November in Michigan, and earlier this month South Carolina's Supreme Court struck down an earlier ban on abortions after six weeks of gestation.

With some states banning abortions beyond six weeks of gestation or adding penalties for providers who perform abortions, women are traveling to states including Colorado, which has one of the most liberal laws in the nation, allowing for abortion at any time throughout pregnancy.

Single mothers are being most affected by the pressures caused by limitations on abortion, Skorman said. Yet lawmakers who oppose abortion also often oppose proposals to expand government subsidies or tax credits for day care, he said.

"They say you have to have this child, but then afterward single moms and the child are the victims over misguided policies," Skorman said. "What risk are you creating by having these live-or-die policies of never, never, ever."

Colorado draws abortion seekers

Thousands of anti-abortion advocates marched in Friday's annual National March for Life in Washington, D.C., saying legislative struggles loom for provisions such as longstanding Hyde Amendment protections, which limit government funding for abortion on annual appropriation bills.

Makepeace, who held a seat on the Colorado Springs City Council from 1985 until she was elected mayor in 1997, believes term limits for lawmakers elected to public office and those appointed, such as Supreme Court justices, would be a solution in preventing such a situation as the reversal of federal abortion rights.

Planned Parenthood views today's landscape as an "opportunity to build something better than Roe," said Jack Teter, political director for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, which operates 23 clinics in Colorado, New Mexico, southern Nevada and Wyoming.

The organization is working with abortion proponents on new legislation to "protect and expand abortion access," he said.

Many advocates are calling for abortion rights to be codified at the federal level.

"After the loss of Roe v. Wade, safe-haven states like Colorado are caring for thousands of additional patients who must travel here from states that have made abortion care illegal," Teter said by email.

"Expanding access to abortion care in our state is of the utmost importance, not just for Coloradans but for the countless patients who are now forced to buy a plane ticket or drive hundreds of miles one way to get the health care they need."

Since the fall of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains has paid out $4.9 million in donations to help patients pay for travel expenses and other abortion-related costs, said spokeswoman Fawn Bolak.

The organization has seen a 217% increase in out-of-state patients, she said. In Colorado, more than one-third, or 37%, of all women seeking abortions now are from out of state, statistics show.

In the first three weeks of January, 400 out-of-state patients sought abortions in the Rocky Mountain region, Bolak said, with the majority traveling from Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

The average wait time for an abortion appointment for fetuses of 12 weeks of gestation or under is 10 days and jumps to 30 days for more than three months post-conception, she said.

Skorman thinks universal buy-in and easy access to all types of contraception would help avert unplanned pregnancies and reduce the need for abortion.

"If I was worried about abortion, I would make it so it's prevented to begin with," he said, "with wide availability to birth control and day-after pills."

Terri said last year's Roe v. Wade decision was "an encouragement," but she intends to keep praying and advocating for babies' rights, with the belief that God is listening and will change hearts and minds, not just public policies.

"Men and women feel they're in a desperate situation, but abortion isn't a good solution," she said. "It opens up lifelong problems."

Said Skorman of the current situation: "To have it come back is just a tragedy. Here we go again."