Colorado voters weighing 24-hour wait for abortion

DENVER - Most days, patients entering the Planned Parenthood clinic pass by protesters with signs like ''Babies Killed Here Cheap'' and ''Thou Shalt Not Kill.''

Abortion rights advocates say that if voters approve a measure on the Colorado ballot Nov. 7, women seeking an abortion may have to face those protesters two days in a row.

Amendment 25 would require a 24-hour wait for an abortion after the woman receives state-approved information about risks and alternatives.

Women need better information before going ahead with an abortion, said Gary Rogers, director of the Colorado Pro Life Alliance, the measure's sponsor.

''Within abortion clinics in Colorado, a woman often does not meet a doctor until she has her feet in the stirrups and is up there for an abortion,'' he said.

Planned Parenthood, whose clinics do 80 percent of Colorado abortions, or about 6,000 a year, said that before the procedure, women can always talk to the doctor, and the staff discusses alternatives, moral and religious issues and other concerns.

''Amendment 25 is not about informing women. It's about chipping away the right to choose,'' said Sylvia Clark, head of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.

The 24-hour waiting period may succeed in Colorado. The Denver Post last month reported that a poll found 56 percent of registered voters favored the measure and 35 percent opposed it.

Legislatures in 15 states have enacted laws similar to the Colorado proposal, though three such laws are in legal limbo.

Colorado is the only state with abortion on the ballot this fall. Most abortion restrictions come from legislatures; rarely do voters approve them.

In 1998, Colorado voters rejected the Pro Life Alliance's attempt to ban the late-term procedure opponents call ''partial-birth abortion.'' Similar measures also failed that year in Washington state and last year in Maine.

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On the Net:

Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains: http://www.pprm.org

National Right to Life Committee: http://www.nrlc.org