Colorado gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter (D) on Wednesday reiterated his opposition to abortion rights in most cases, the Denver Post reports (Frates, Denver Post, 2/16). Ritter, a former Denver district attorney, has said he opposes abortion rights expect in cases of rape or incest or to save the life of the woman (Crummy, Denver Post, 2/15). However, he also has said that he supports access to emergency contraception, has "respect" for Roe v. Wade -- the 1973 Supreme Court ruling which effectively outlawed state abortion bans -- and that he would enforce the state's abortion-related laws (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 11/16/05). When asked last week if, as governor, he would sign a bill banning abortion in the state if the Supreme Court overturned Roe, he said, "I'm not answering that question," adding, "I have come to appreciate how nuanced this whole thing can be and how dangerous it can be to answer the hypothetical." However, in June 2005 he told the Web site Coloradopols.com that he would sign such a bill "only if it provides protections for women who are victims of rape or incest or to protect the life of the mother" (Denver Post, 2/15). Ritter is running against state Rep. Gary Lindstrom for the Democratic nomination. Lindstrom on Wednesday said he might consider running for his state House seat instead of running for governor (Denver Post, 2/16).

New York Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Proposes Ending Medicaid Coverage of Most Abortions
New York gubernatorial candidate John Faso (R) on Wednesday said if elected, he would seek to end Medicaid coverage of all abortions except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the woman, the New York Times reports. He also said he would veto budgets approved by the state assembly that did not include such a restriction (Medina, New York Times, 2/16). Faso, a former minority leader of the state Assembly, is running for the Republican gubernatorial nomination against former New York Secretary of State Randy Daniels, former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld and state Assembly member Pat Manning (Cockfield, Long Island Newsday, 2/16). At the annual meeting of the Conservative Party of New York State earlier this week, Faso said he thinks the Supreme Court ruling in Roe is unconstitutional. However, he said, "At this juncture it would be inopportune, impolitic and unwise for me to speculate what might happen prospectively four, five years down the road," adding, "My expectation, given the political reality in the state, is that the status quo on [the abortion rights] issue would not change, regardless of who is elected" (New York Times, 2/16). Mary Alice Carr, spokesperson for NARAL Pro-Choice New York, said, "We have absolutely no reason to believe that [Faso] would protect abortion access in New York" (Benjamin, Albany Times Union, 2/16).