Abortion rights initiative makes Colorado’s ballot
DENVER (KDVR) — An abortion rights initiative will be on the November ballot after supporters secured enough valid signatures to put the measure before voters, according to the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office.
The office determined that there were 159,930 valid signatures submitted for the ballot initiative out of the 225,668 submitted. The ballot measure would add constitutional protections for abortions in Colorado, including requiring that Medicaid and private health insurers cover the procedure.
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The measure would also undo a constitutional amendment from 1984 that prohibits state dollars from being used to pay for abortions. In Colorado, abortion is legal at all stages of pregnancy.
An April 2022 statutory protection declared abortion to be a fundamental right. That was months before the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2022 overturned the 1973 case of Roe v. Wade, which secured abortion rights in the U.S.
To pass, the initiative must have 55% of voters’ support.
The ballot measure would add Section 32 to the Colorado Constitution, which would state: “The right to abortion is hereby recognized. Government shall not deny, impede, or discriminate against the exercise of that right, including prohibiting health insurance coverage for abortion.”
The measure would also repeal Section 50 of the state constitution, which is the ban on public funding for abortions.
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A fiscal review of the measure conducted in October 2023 stated that it would not cost state and local governments money if passed but could help increase individuals’ spending because they have insurance support.
A dueling measure that would have banned abortion did not turn in signatures and will not be decided by voters. Almost a dozen other U.S. states have some form of abortion protection measure on the ballot this fall.
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