Rep. Meg Froelich made waves this year as one of the prime sponsors behind the Reproductive Health Equity Act, enshrining abortion rights under state law. And that very bill inspired Froelich’s opponent, Marla Fernandez, to run for office.

Fernandez, a Republican paralegal, is challenging four-year incumbent Froelich, a Greenwood Village Democrat, for her seat representing House District 3 this November.

If elected, Fernandez said her first action would be to draft a bill to repeal the Reproductive Health Equity Act. RHEA is among the most permissive abortion laws in the country, prohibiting state and local public entities from restricting a person’s right to continue a pregnancy, have an abortion or use or refuse contraception. The bill also declares that fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses do not have independent rights.

“I want to repeal it so that we could have a discussion with a proper balance of the constitutional issues involved,” Fernandez said. “Women don’t have informed information … some providers are telling them that it’s a clump of cells. I believe it is person and the legislature needs to protect life and liberty.”

While Fernandez said she is not interested in bringing forward legislation to outlaw abortion, she described herself as pro-life and said she “is not going to vote against (her) values” if an abortion ban was proposed.

In contrast, Froelich has already begun working to further expand abortion access. Froelich and Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, filed a bill title in June to protect abortion providers and patients in Colorado regardless of what state they come from. Froelich will prime sponsor that bill during the next legislative session if she is re-elected.

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“Colorado is a safe place for the full range of reproductive care,” Froelich said. “Our bill was legally vetted, constitutional, intentional in its language, precise and really, at its root, is just establishing a fundamental right for folks to make these private medical decisions.”

The showdown between Froelich and Fernandez comes as abortion rights have become a state-by-state issue following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June. Since then, Colorado has emerged as a leader for abortion access.

In addition to passing RHEA, Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order last month to withhold records from states that may punish those who receive abortions in Colorado and the first post-Roe effort to ban abortion in Colorado failed to make the ballot.

Campaigning in south Denver metro-based HD3 as an anti-abortion advocate has at times been difficult for Fernandez. She said while walking her district to promote her campaign, some residents have closed their doors on her after she revealed that she is a Republican because of the abortion issue.

“It hasn’t been a lot, overall I’ve had a good response from people … but it’s a hard race,” Fernandez said. “I think I’m the right person to get into the election and I need to get in there so that I could bridge the divide between Republican and Democrats. I hope that I can sway some people to my side, but at this point I need God’s help.”

So far, Froelich’s campaign funds have dwarfed Fernandez’s. Froelich has raised $29,565, has $40,595 in carryover funds from her last election cycle and has spent $49,613 on this year’s campaign — compared to Fernandez who raised $2,797, took out $5,000 in loans and spent $3,060, according to Aug. 1 campaign finance reports from the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office.

Both Froelich and Fernandez also ran unopposed in the June primary, reflecting the perception that the seat is not very competitive. 

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Of the over 52,000 active registered voters in House District 3, 34% are Democrats and only 18% are Republicans, according to July data from the Secretary of State’s Office. However, the plurality — 46% — are unaffiliated, leaving room for a non-Democrat candidate to achieve victory.

Nevertheless, Froelich said she is not concerned about facing Fernandez in November.

“To anyone who has a feeling against allowing people to make their own private medical decisions, we’ve shown over and over again that that’s a really minority opinion. So go for it,” Froelich said. “I welcome discussion from folks who hold opposite opinions and I’m sure their beliefs are firmly held. I would argue that they may not be rooted in science, but that’s for the voters to decide.”

Outside of the abortion front, Froelich said, if she is re-elected, she will bring forward legislation to address climate change, support the disability community and assist victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Fernandez said her goals if elected include reforming education by redefining standards in the Evidence-based Training in Science of Reading bill passed earlier this year. In addition, she said she wants to draft a bill to remove Colorado residents from paying the federal income tax.

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