U.S. state governor signs into law women's right to abortion

DENVER, United States, April 5 (Xinhua) -- The governor of Colorado on Monday signed landmark legislation, guaranteeing women's right to abortion.

Gov. Jared Polis signed into law the Reproductive Health Equity Act, which codifies women's right to make reproductive health-care decisions free from government interference.

"In the State of Colorado, the serious decision to start or end a pregnancy with medical assistance will remain between a person, their doctor, and their faith," he said.

"No matter what the Supreme Court does in the future, people in Colorado will be able to choose when and if they have children," Polis also told the media on Monday at a bill signing ceremony at the governor's mansion in downtown Denver.

The Colorado legislature approved a bill last month, with Republicans spending hours arguing against the measure's passage. The bill was debated in the House for 24 consecutive hours in what was one of the longest debates in the legislature's history.

Abortion in Colorado is currently legal at all stages of pregnancy. It is one of seven states without any term restrictions as to when a pregnancy can be terminated.

In a recent national poll by the Pew Research Center, 59 percent of adults said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

"A vast majority of women support their own right to an abortion," Richardson, a policy advisor during the Reagan administration, told Xinhua.

"But the voices of the current religious extremists - voices against the stated desires of America's founding fathers, who wanted a separation of church and state - are succeeding in pulling America back into the Stone Ages, against the overwhelming will of the people," Richardson added.