{"id":38122,"date":"2022-09-30T21:45:30","date_gmt":"2022-10-01T03:45:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/joe-odea-signed-petition-to-put-abortion-measure-on-colorado-ballot-in-2020\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:42:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:42:33","slug":"joe-odea-signed-petition-to-put-abortion-measure-on-colorado-ballot-in-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/joe-odea-signed-petition-to-put-abortion-measure-on-colorado-ballot-in-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Joe O\u2019Dea signed petition to put abortion measure on Colorado ballot in 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Republican
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joe O\u2019Dea discusses health care, abortion and election integrity during a debate with state Rep. Ron Hanks on June 20, hosted by The Colorado Sun and CBS4. (Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joe O\u2019Dea didn\u2019t just vote for a 2020 ballot measure that would have banned abortions in Colorado after 22 weeks of pregnancy. He signed a petition to get Proposition 115 on the ballot that year.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Dea signed the petition on Feb. 26, 2020, according to documents from the Colorado Secretary of State\u2019s Office that The Colorado Sun reviewed on Thursday. That was about a week before signatures to get the measure on the ballot were due to state elections officials.<\/p>\n

His signature was the first below an explanation of what Proposition 115 would do: \u201cprohibiting an abortion when the probable gestational age of the fetus is at least 22 weeks and, in connection therewith, making it a misdemeanor punishable by a fine to perform or attempt to perform a prohibited abortion, except when the abortion is immediately required to save the life of the pregnant woman or when her life is physically threatened.\u201d<\/p>\n

The news, first reported Friday in The Sun\u2019s politics and policy newsletter, The Unaffiliated, further complicates O\u2019Dea\u2019s portrayal of himself as an abortion-rights Republican. Proposition 115 failed 59% to 41%, an 18 percentage point margin.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Dea, who is running to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, has said his position on abortion has changed since 2020, when he was a private citizen.<\/p>\n

He told The Associated Press that he \u201cdidn\u2019t look at all the nuances\u201d of the 2020 measure.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Dea now says he believes abortions should be legal through 20 weeks of pregnancy, or five months, after which the procedure should be allowed only in cases of rape and incest or when a mother\u2019s life is at risk or a fetus isn\u2019t viable.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Dea also has said he would vote for a bill that would codify Roe v. Wade, the recently overturned U.S. Supreme Court decision that guaranteed abortion access.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe supports a woman\u2019s right to choose in the first five months of pregnancy and opposes late-term abortion,\u201d O\u2019Dea\u2019s spokesman, Kyle Kohli, told The Sun. \u201cHe\u2019ll vote that way. There will be some who don\u2019t agree with Joe\u2019s well-established opposition to late-term abortion, just as there are Republicans who disagree with his support for abortion rights early on.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Dea, a first-time candidate, has taken heat from fellow Republicans for supporting abortions at any time during a pregnancy. He has also been criticized by Democrats for voting for Proposition 115, a revelation that was first reported by The Sun, and for telling 9News that he wants to \u201cnegotiate a good bill that brings balance to women\u2019s rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Democrats have run a host of TV ads attacking O\u2019Dea\u2019s position on abortion, including an active $2.7 million campaign from a newly formed super PAC, 53 Peaks. That group spent another $200,000 on digital ads against O\u2019Dea this week.<\/p>\n

According to 2019 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 99% of abortions happen before the 21st week of pregnancy. Ninety-three percent of abortions happen during the first 13 weeks of a pregnancy, while 6% happen between 14 and 20 weeks of pregnancy.<\/p>\n

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says \u201cwith very rare exceptions, babies born before 23 weeks of pregnancy do not survive.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Dea\u2019s campaign said O\u2019Dea isn\u2019t planning to pursue abortion legislation if he\u2019s elected to the Senate, but that the 20-week threshold \u2013 and the exceptions afterward he supports \u2013 is what he will use to determine whether he will vote \u201cyes\u201d on a bill in Congress.<\/p>\n

Bennet, meanwhile, supports legislation prohibiting any government restrictions on abortion access, according to his campaign, including the Women\u2019s Health Protection Act.<\/p>\n

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to covering Colorado issues. To learn more, go to coloradosun.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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