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The Trust Project

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(Provided by Gigafact)

Yes.

If passed, Amendment 79 would lift a 40-year-old ban on using taxpayer dollars for abortions in Colorado. 

The ban — which allows exceptions when the life of a mother is in danger or when a pregnancy is the result of rape or incest — is written into a 1984 state constitutional amendment. It would be repealed should Amendment 79 pass, potentially letting Medicaid and health insurance plans for public employees in Colorado cover the procedure.

Amendment 79 would also protect the right to abortion in the Colorado constitution and prohibit any state or local government from impeding on that right. The amendment would have no impact on government fiscal spending, but abortion-related programs supported by public funds could be created in the future.  

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one. 

See full source list below.

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The Colorado Sun partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-size fact-checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

References:

2024 State Ballot Information Booklet, Legislative Council of the Colorado Assembly, accessed in October 2024. Source link.

Colorado Constitution, Article V, Section 50: Public funding of abortion forbidden, accessed in October 2024. Source link.

Type of Story: Fact-Check

Checks a specific statement or set of statements asserted as fact.

Por recently graduated from CU Boulder with a master’s degree in journalism and is interested in writing about the environment and exploring local stories. When not working on some form of writing, Por is either looking for Thai food or petting...