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2024 Colorado Amendment 79

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Proposed amendment to the Colorado Constitution


Amendment 79
November 5, 2024
Constitutional Right to Abortion
Results
Choice Votes %
Yes 1,921,593 61.97%
No 1,179,261 38.03%
Total votes 3,100,854 100.00%

For

  80–90%   70–80%   60–70%   50–60%

Against

  70–80%   60–70%   50–60%

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2024 Colorado Amendment 79 was a constitutional amendment that appeared on the November 5, 2024 ballot. The amendment established a right to abortion in the Constitution of Colorado and repealed a constitutional ban on public funding for abortions. The amendment passed, surpassing the 55% supermajority vote required for the amendment to be approved.

Text

In the Colorado Constitution, Article II is amended by the addition of a new section 32 as follows:

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.

Background

Colorado's abortion laws

See also: Abortion in Colorado § History

In the 19th century, bans by state legislatures on abortion were about protecting the life of the mother given the number of deaths caused by abortions; state governments saw themselves as looking out for the lives of their citizens. Colorado's first ban on abortion was passed in 1861. It read:

“very person who shall administer substance or liquid, or who shall use or cause to be used any instrument, of whatsoever kind, with the intention to procure the miscarriage of any woman then being with child, and shall thereof be duly convicted, shall be imprisoned for a term not exceeding three years, and fined in a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars; and if any woman, by reason of such treatment, shall die, the person or persons administering, or causing to be administered, such poison, substance or liquid, or using or causing to be used, any instrument, as aforesaid, shall be deemed guilty of manslaughter, and if convicted, be punished accordingly.”

In 1967, Colorado decriminalized abortions in cases of rape, incest, or in which a pregnant woman would be permanently disabled as a result. Despite adopting what was considered a more progressive law, elective abortions were still illegal under state law.

1984 Colorado Amendment 3

In 1984, Colorado voters narrowly approved Amendment 3. The amendment effectively banned the usage of public funding for abortions except in certain circumstances. The amendment, which is still a part of the Constitution of Colorado, reads:

"No public funds shall be used by the State of Colorado, its agencies or political subdivisions, to pay, or otherwise reimburse, either directly or indirectly, any person, agency, or facility for the performance of any induced abortion, PROVIDED HOWEVER, that the General Assembly, by specific bill, may authorize, and appropriate, funds to be used for those medical services necessary to prevent the death of either a pregnant woman or her unborn child under circumstances where every reasonable effort is made to preserve the life of each."

Ballot measure submission

In 2023, Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom, the group sponsoring the initiative, filed the amendment with Jena Griswold, the Colorado Secretary of State. The measure was approved for circulation on November 14, 2023. On April 18, 2024, the group submitted some 225,000 signatures, well over the 124,238 needed to gain ballot access. Griswold certified the signatures on May 17, 2024.

Endorsements

Yes

U.S. Senators

Statewide officials

  • Phil Weiser, 39th Attorney General of Colorado (2019-present) (Democrat)
  • Dave Young, 57th Treasurer of Colorado (2019-present) (Democrat)

U.S. Representatives

State Senators

  • 19 Democratic state senators

State Representatives

  • 31 Democratic state representatives

Labor unions

Organizations

No

State Representatives

  • Brandi Bradley, state representative from the 39th district (2023–present) (Republican)

Organizations

See also

Notes

References

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  1. ^ "Right to Abortion". Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  2. "Results". Colorado Secretary of State. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  3. "Colorado Right to Abortion and Health Insurance Coverage Initiative (2024)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  4. "Right to Abortion" (PDF). Colorado Secretary of State. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  5. Buell, Samuel (January 1, 1991). "Criminal Abortion Revisited". New York University Law Review. 66 (6): 1774–1831. PMID 11652642.
  6. Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Org., No. 19-1392, slip op. at 84 (U.S. June 24, 2022).
  7. "Medicine: Abortion on Request". Time. March 9, 1970. Archived from the original on December 1, 2010. Retrieved October 15, 2012. (subscription required)
  8. "Colorado Amendment 3, Prohibit Public Funds for Abortions Initiative (1984)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  9. "Colorado Constitution & Statutes". Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  10. "Colorado group says it has enough signatures for abortion rights ballot measure this fall". CBS News. April 12, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  11. ^ "Our Coalition". Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  12. "FFRF Action Fund grants support for 11 pro-abortion state referenda". ffrfaction.org. September 24, 2024. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  13. @NCJW (June 10, 2024). "We admire the Colorado abortion advocates who, even though Colorado law already protects legal access to abortion, were proactive & worked to make the right permanent with a constitutional ballot initiative" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. Beedle, Heidi (April 15, 2024). "Inaugural March for Life Attacks Colorado Abortion Policy and Prop 89". coloradotimesrecorder.com. Colorado Times Recorder. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  15. @cocatholicconf (January 18, 2024). "@SenadoraJulie announced Nov. ballot prop to "enshrine abortion" -- "Right to Abortion" initiative will make abortion a "fundamental constitutional right" & allow TAX DOLLARS TO FUND ABORTION by removing the 1984 prohibition on public funding for abortion. #coleg #MarchForLife" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. "2024 COLORADO BALLOT QUESTIONS". Colorado Republican Party. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  17. "MARCH FOR LIFE, PARTNERED WITH PRO LIFE COLORADO ANNOUNCES SPEAKERS FOR THE 2024 COLORADO MARCH FOR LIFE". March 25, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
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