GOP Gubernatorial Field Moves to the Extreme Right on Abortion

Denver, CO - GOP gubernatorial candidates are jockeying for first place as the anti-personal freedom candidate. While Colorado Democrats vote to protect abortion rights for women, leaders of the GOP are staking out more and more unpopular positions on a woman’s right to choose. 

Danielle Neuschwanger has gone the furthest to defend GOP priorities, vowing to sign a ‘heartbeat’ bill that would ban abortion as early as six weeks if she wins the Colorado gubernatorial election. Neuschwanger claims to be pro-medical choice, but doesn’t think women should have a choice about whether to carry a pregnancy. 

After first avoiding committing to a position on abortion bans, last week Heidi Ganahl said she’d support a ballot initiative to ban abortion permanently in Colorado. Yesterday, she demanded the Governor not sign HB22-1279 into law. Her own website claims she’s pro-freedoms.

These anti-choice initiatives have been rejected by Colorado voters multiple times, as recently as 2020. Polling from February shows support for these bans remains isolated to the right-wing even today.  

Kristi Burton Brown, chair of the Colorado GOP, previously headed a group dedicated to ending abortion and has endorsed the passage of the extremist Texas Senate Bill 8, a bill that bans abortions at six weeks and also allows private citizens to sue anyone who provides an abortion. 

"GOP leadership clearly only wants to bring us backward to the days of shaming and silencing women. We cannot let this dangerous rhetoric go unchecked - this is not leadership. These candidates are wrong for Colorado.” - Kailee Stiles, spokesperson for the Colorado Democratic Party.