This past Friday, thousands of pro-life advocates descended on the state Capitol in Denver for the first-ever Colorado March for Life. Their joyful smiles, voices and witness filled me with hope Colorado is taking the necessary steps toward transforming from being a leader for abortion, to a leader for life.  

Pro-abortion advocates view Colorado as the “leader of abortion” with good reason. In 2022, Colorado codified the “right” to abortion at any stage of pregnancy. More recently, Colorado’s partisan state leaders officially designated Jan. 22 as “Roe v. Wade” day. As if that weren’t enough, the state also passed a law attempting to limit the advertising of pro-life organizations, which daily save lives and successfully help women overcome homelessness, addiction, abuse and so much more.

At the very least, Colorado law still prohibits public funding for abortions. Tragically, however, radical pro-abortion advocates are seeking to enshrine Initiative 89 in the Colorado constitution. If passed, the amendment would allow the public funding of abortions by cementing an absolute “right” to abortion in the constitution. This would allow abortions at any point in pregnancy without limits or safety measures to protect women, without oversight, regulation or even the credentialing of provider, and without any protections for parental rights — all egregious measures no other country in the world permits.

Stay up to speed: Sign up for daily opinion in your inbox Monday-Friday

As a board-certified OB/GYN and former abortionist, I am disturbed by these efforts to exploit women and children for profit.  

As part of my OB-GYN residency, I was trained in abortion procedures. Yet a traumatic experience performing an abortion opened my eyes to the reality abortion painfully takes a human life — in violation of the Hippocratic Oath I’d taken to do no harm. Moreover, in all the years I’ve spent working in medicine, I have never had a patient who didn’t regret her abortion. Indeed, many experience intense grief and trauma (My experience corroborates studies showing more than 60% of post-abortive women reported high levels of pressure or coercion into unwanted abortions).

Sadly, Colorado’s current abortion law and attacks on pregnancy resource centers, including women’s right to choose safe, bioidentical progesterone to reverse chemical abortions, obscures the reality of what abortion entails, how it harms women and, ultimately, how pregnancy resource centers can help. But Coloradans can take a step to right our course by learning the details of this proposed initiative and by taking a stand against turning our state into an abortion destination that then abandons women to their home states to deal with complications or follow-up care. 

Thankfully, the American Association of Pro-Life (AAPLOG) OB-GYNs, of which I am a board member, is working to bring more light to life-affirming policies and support for Colorado women. Just after the state March for Life, we launched the first-ever state AAPLOG chapter here in Colorado. We will be a resource for legislators and medical professionals, while offering encouragement and support to all medical professionals seeking to respect their Hippocratic Oath, protect life and honor women.  

This is the type of advocacy Colorado’s women and children deserve — not the deadly lies of the abortion industry.  

Just a few days ago,thousands of pro-life advocates thronged Denver’s streets to testify to this truth. Their cheerful witness and advocacy offered a source of hope and light to a state sadly taken over by abortion extremism. 

They also served as a consoling reminder to Colorado’s post-abortive moms, and any mom struggling with a difficult decision, that the pro-life movement is ready to walk with them and love them every step of the way. 

Catherine J. Wheeler, M.D., is a board-certified OB/GYN who practiced for 24 years in Utah and now resides in Colorado.