Colorado is the fourth state set to vote on an abortion-related ballot measure in November.
The initiative will be the 10th abortion-related measure to be decided by Colorado voters. Colorado has seen more abortion-related ballot measures than any other state. There have been nine on the ballot since the first in 1984, and this year will increase that number to 10. The state with the next highest number is Oregon with six.
The initiative would not just be the tenth related to abortion in Colorado, it would repeal the first one ever proposed and passed in the state: Colorado Amendment 3, passed in 1984. Amendment 3 prohibited the use of public funds, such as Medicaid, for abortions. It passed with 50.39% of the vote. In 1988, another initiative attempted to repeal Amendment 3 but failed, with 60.24% voting ‘No’.
The proposed ballot initiative would add the following to the Colorado Constitution: “The right to abortion is hereby recognized.” It would also state that the government shall not “deny, impede, or discriminate against the exercise” of the right to abortion, including prohibiting health insurance coverage for abortion.
The Colorado secretary of state’s office announced on May 17 that the initiative had secured a place on the ballot after finding that 159,930 of the 225,688 signatures submitted were valid. To qualify for the ballot, 124,238 valid signatures were required.
Since the initiative amends the state constitution, it requires a 55% supermajority vote of approval to pass.
Karen Middleton, President of Cobalt and Co-Chair of Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom, said, “In this time of uncertainty, we need to secure abortion rights and access in the Colorado Constitution, beyond the reach of politics and politicians. This initiative will secure that right for present and future generations. A right isn’t a right if you can’t exercise it because you can’t afford it. We have to ensure that insurance coverage for every Coloradan, whether the source of it is public or private, includes abortion care.”
Brittany Vessely, board member of Pro-Life Colorado, said, “The only provision keeping Colorado from being the number one destination for unrestricted abortion in the United States is the 1984 Colorado constitutional prohibition against the use of public funding for abortion. This is what the 2024 #89 ‘Right to Abortion’ initiative is about: codifying a ‘right to abortion’ in the Constitution and removing the prohibition against taxpayer dollars subsidizing abortion.”
Following the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, four states adopted ballot measures creating a state constitutional right to abortion: California, Michigan, Ohio, and Vermont. Three measures to create state constitutional rights to abortion are certified to appear on the 2024 ballot in Florida, Maryland, and South Dakota.
Additional reading:
Colorado Right to Abortion and Health Insurance Coverage Initiative (2024)
2023 and 2024 abortion-related ballot measures