Colorado Proposed Amendment Opens Door for Taxpayer-Funded Abortion

Colorado is already one of nine states as well as Washington, DC, that has no restrictions on abortion, meaning unborn babies can be legally aborted throughout pregnancy.

A proposed amendment to go before voters in November would go a step further, codifying an unfettered right to abortion throughout pregnancy into the state constitution and opening the door to taxpayer-funded abortions.

The proposed abortion measure is called Amendment 79 and was put forward by the group Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom and is endorsed by far-left groups and abortion giant Planned Parenthood. The amendment would ultimately enshrine the right to unlimited abortion in the state constitution and would also override a 1984 measure that prohibits health insurance from covering abortions for public employees and those on public insurance.

Colorado ballots will read: 

Shall there be a change to the Colorado constitution recognizing the right to abortion, and, in connection therewith, prohibiting the state and local governments from denying, impeding, or discriminating against the exercise of that right, allowing abortion to be a covered service under health insurance plans for Colorado state and local government employees and for enrollees in state and local governmental insurance programs?

The official text of the measure states:

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 need the support of 55 percent of voters to pass.

READ MORE: These Ten States Have Abortion on the Ballot in November

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed the Reproductive Health Equity Act into law in 2022 which guarantees the supposed “fundamental right to abortion” throughout pregnancy and denies all rights to unborn children at any stage of development. The proposed amendment would essentially enshrine the law into the state constitution, so that only another ballot measure could change the law, insulating abortion laws from a shift in state leadership.

Last year, the Colorado legislature passed DB23-189, which mandates that large employer health benefit plans issued or renewed on and after January 1, 2025 provide coverage for the total cost of abortions.

While the proposed amendment would not automatically allow Medicaid coverage for abortions, it would give the state legislature permission to pass laws allowing allocation of funding through Medicaid.

“Amendment 79 removes Section 50 of Article V of the Colorado constitution, which currently prohibits public funding for abortion. Last year, the Colorado legislature passed SB23-189, which mandates insurance coverage for abortion, including Medicaid for private providers,” assessed the Colorado Catholic Conference, which is against the measure. 

“The only reason to completely remove Sec. 50 of Article V is to open the door for direct taxpayer funding for abortion. Proponents could have introduced a ballot initiative to create an exemption for public employees under Article V, but they are trying to remove it entirely,” the organization continued. “This is likely because the intent is for the Colorado legislature to reconvene in January 2025 and pass a multi-million-dollar bill to fund abortion procedures and travel with our taxpayer dollars.”

Vote No on Amendment 79 calls the amendment a “complete overreach.”

“For the first time in our state’s history, Amendment 79 would repeal taxpayer protections and create a funnel for our taxpayer dollars to eventually pay for in-state and out-of-state abortions,” the group states. “Even if you don’t support it, it will now be written into the constitution. Abortions would be paid for with our tax dollars. It’s a complete overreach, and it’s wrong.”

Both groups warn that the amendment could also potentially lead to the overturning of the state’s parental notification abortion law.