Abortion Capacity In Colorado Could Expand With Advanced Practice Clinicians, More Telehealth

By Sara Wilson, Colorado Newsline

May 16, 2022

As Colorado abortion rights activists prepare for a potential influx of patients coming into the state following the anticipated reversal of Roe v. Wade, they are strategizing about how to increase the pool of qualified abortion providers to meet demand and not compromise the care of Colorado residents.

“I don’t see any state that has secure abortion access being able to meet that demand with the current workforce. We are talking unbelievable numbers of reproductive-aged individuals who will live in states without abortion access,” Dr. Kristina Tocce, an OB-GYN and the vice president and medical director of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, said.

“Every single state that has secure access is going to be called to serve an unmeetable need.”

A leaked draft opinion this month shows the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade precedent, leaving abortion policy up to individual states. Since Colorado now has reproductive health care, including abortion rights, enshrined in state law, the state could become an island of abortion care access as surrounding states work to pass restrictions.

Wyoming and Utah both have so-called trigger laws on the books that will effectively ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Oklahoma’s governor recently signed a six-week ban into law, following the lead of Texas’ controversial measure, S.B. 8, which went into effect last year.

The experience following Texas’ ban could foreshadow what Colorado can expect as surrounding states work to ban abortion.

“Our volume increased dramatically in the first month or so since S.B. 8 was implemented. We saw a huge spike in our requests from people, specifically from Texas. That volume continues to hold,” said Amanda Carlson, the abortion fund director for Cobalt, a nonprofit dedicated to abortion access in Colorado.

An increase of nonresident abortion patients, many of whom might be further along in their gestational period due to travel and logistical delays, could create a strain on the abortion provider network.

“We know if we experience a provider shortage in Colorado there will be impacts for both people who travel to Colorado and people who live in Colorado who need abortion care. I think the biggest concern for us, is that folks will inevitably be pushed much later into their pregnancies before being able to access the care they need. Generally, when someone can’t access abortion care when they want it and they are pushed later into their pregnancy, it can drive up financial costs and emotional burdens, significantly,” Gina Martínez Valentín, the director of Colorado Doula Project, said in an emailed statement. The organization provides practical, logistical and financial support to patients.

In 2021, 13.6% of the 11,580 people who received abortions in Colorado came from out of state, with high numbers from Texas and Wyoming, according to vital statistic records from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. That share has steadily increased since 2017, when the earliest public data is available.