Colorado governor signs bill codifying the right to abortion in state law

Colorado joined a handful of other states Monday in codifying the right to abortion in statute, a party-line response to efforts across the country to limit abortion access in anticipation of a pending U.S. Supreme Court ruling on a challenge to the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that banned states from outlawing abortion.

Gov. Jared Polis signed into law the Reproductive Health Equity Act, which passed the Democratic-led legislature after dozens of hours of testimony by residents and fierce opposition by minority Republicans. The law guarantees access to reproductive care before and after pregnancy and bans local governments from imposing their own restrictions.

It also declares that fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses have no independent rights — a response to failed ballot initiatives that sought to restrict abortion by giving embryos the rights of born humans. In 2014, voters rejected a proposal to add unborn human beings to the state's criminal code, allowing prosecutors to charge anyone who kills a fetus with a crime.