Colorado ballot measure to decide abortion access expansion, taxpayer funding

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - One of the many ballot initiatives Colorado voters will decide on in November's general election is whether or not to enshrine abortion in the Colorado constitution.

If 55 percent of voters approve Amendment 79 , abortion will become a constitutional right in Colorado. State and local governments would be barred from impeding anyone wanting to terminate a pregnancy.

Abortion is already legal in Colorado, as the current state statute allows a pregnancy to be terminated at any time. Proponents of the amendment said it's necessary to make sure abortion rights are protected, regardless of political climate.

"A right without access is a right only in name and one bad election and one stroke of the pen could take away our right to abortion in Colorado if our majorities in the state leg could change," New Era Colorado Deputy Director Christina Soliz said.

"We believe that Coloradans should make decisions for their own body and this ballot measure does that," Cobalt Organizing and Political Director Kiera Hatton said.

However, those opposed to the amendment believe the amendment is too broad.

"It would prohibit any reasonable limitation, so we like to remind voters that means healthy moms and healthy babies can get abortions in the seventh, eighth, and ninth month of pregnancy," Focus on the Family spokesperson Nicole Hunt said. "To us, that's far more extreme, far more radical than Roe vs. Wade ever was."

Hunt said Amendment 79 could also change the procedure for minors seeking an abortion.

Current state law sets out strict requirements for those under 18 who want an abortion. Unless a minor falls under a specific set of circumstances, a doctor must notify the parents.

"This law, if it becomes the law of the land, would actually ban parental notification because it would act as an impediment to access to abortion," she said.

Amendment 79 would also remove an existing constitutional ban on public funds for abortion services, which could potentially allow taxpayer funds to be spent on abortions through Medicaid or state and local government employee health insurance plans.

"Folks who are on state health insurance plans do not have access to reproductive healthcare like abortion care on their insurance plans," Soliz said. "We shouldn't discriminate by health insurance plans what care you get depending on where you work."

Exceptions exist in state and federal law that allow Medicaid to pay for abortion services when a pregnant woman's life is in danger or the case of rape or incest.

But Hunt said Colorado voters need to consider what the possibility of taxpayer-funded abortions could entail.

"It would actually allow for the state legislature to move to fund abortion, not just abortion for women in-state but even women who are coming to this state so it would make Colorado, continue to make Colorado, an abortion destination and it would force taxpayers to foot the bill," she said.

You can learn more about Amendment 79 and other ballot measures here .