According to an article published by CPR (Colorado Public Radio), in 2022 state data indicated that 73% of all abortions took place at eight weeks of gestation or less. The article also indicated that “the out-of-state figure has more than tripled since 2020. And its percentage of the total number of procedures has more than doubled between 2021 and 2023.” Abortion is allowed through all nine months of pregnancy and the state permits “telemed abortions” through virtual visits. When a request by a pro-life organization for abortion facility inspection records was sent to the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, the Department responded that “Colorado does not inspect or license abortion clinics.”
In Colorado, abortion is unregulated in terms of gestational progress and in terms of safety standards. And yet, there is a measure that has been proposed that will amend the state constitution to say that the government “shall not deny, impede, or discriminate against the exercise of the right to abortion.”
According to the Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom coalition, they have collected over 225,000 signatures, passing the 124,238 signature threshold to make it onto the ballot. The group is three state Senate districts short of getting enough signatures in all 35 state Senate districts as required by Colorado’s secretary of state and is still working to collect in those districts to meet that requirement. The petition is due 26 April, but they plan to submit it sooner. The Colorado Secretary of State has 30 days after that to verify the petition’s signatures.
For more information about the challenges that the citizens of Colorado are facing, see the Colorado Catholic Conference website.
