Colorado and Michigan Take Major Steps to Protect Abortion and Gender-Affirming Services, While Neighboring States Move to Restrict Them

Colorado and Michigan have recently taken major steps to protect the rights to abortion and gender-affirming services, while neighboring states have moved to restrict such procedures.

On Friday, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a trio of bills that further protect the rights to abortion and gender-affirming services in the state. This comes a year after he signed a measure to codify the right to abortion into Colorado law, months before the US Supreme Court eliminated federal protections for abortion rights by overturning Roe v. Wade.

At the same time, conservative neighboring states Oklahoma and Wyoming have passed strict abortion bans, while in Utah, Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill earlier this year banning hormone treatment and surgical procedures for minors seeking gender-affirming services.

In Michigan, Governor Gretchen Whitmer has also taken steps to protect reproductive rights. Last week, she signed a bill formally repealing the state’s 1931 abortion ban. Abortion is going to stay legal in the state as long as a ballot measure that voters approved in November, which put a guarantee of reproductive rights into Michigan’s constitution, remains in place.

These recent developments in Colorado and Michigan demonstrate the current political climate surrounding abortion in the US. While some states are taking steps to restrict access to abortion, others are actively working to protect the rights of individuals to make their own reproductive choices.