Colorado Voters Could Get a Second Chance on Amendment 79

In November 2024, Colorado voters approved Amendment 79, adding a right to abortion to the state constitution and opening the door to taxpayer-funded abortion through state health insurance programs.  

Now a coalition of pro-life advocates, churches, and pastors are trying to put a repeal of Amendment 79 before voters. 

This effort, Initiative 283, cleared a long legal and procedural road, including multiple hearings before Colorado’s Title Board and two trips to the Colorado Supreme Court. The current hurdle is to collect 124,238 valid signatures from registered Colorado voters by August 3. That’s 2 percent of all registered voters in the state, and every signature must be gathered in person, on paper, to meet distribution requirements across Colorado’s senate districts. 

What repeal would and would not do 

Passing Initiative 283 would remove Amendment 79 from the constitution and allow lawmakers to revisit the Reproductive Health Equity Act (RHEA), the law that currently blocks the state from regulating late-term abortion facilities, requiring transparency and data reporting, or restricting taxpayer funding of abortion. Repeal opens the door to such pro-life changes.  

Amendment 79 put one of the nation’s most permissive abortion policies into our state constitution, and Initiative 283 would undo and remove this provision. It would not make abortion illegal in Colorado. 

As a 501c3 committed to cultivating a community that values life through the love of Christ, Life Network believes preborn children deserve legal protection and therefore supports Initiative 283.  

Important note if it makes the ballot 

If Initiative 283 qualifies for the ballot, because it repeals an existing constitutional provision rather than adding a new one, it would only need a simple majority to pass. Colorado’s 55 percent supermajority requirement for constitutional amendments does not apply. 

The bottom line 

Whether Colorado voters get to weigh in again on Amendment 79 depends on what happens in the next few weeks. Organizers need tens of thousands of in-person signatures by August 3. If you want to see this question back on the ballot, find out where you can sign before this deadline.

If you want to see this question back on the ballot, several area churches are making petitions available, including: