Anti-abortion activists rallied at the Denver Capitol Friday for the second annual Colorado March for Life. While Colorado anti-abortion groups have held annual marches and rallies to commemorate the anniversary of Roe v. Wade for decades, this event is affiliated with the national organization March for Life, which hosts its annual event in Washington, D.C.
Speakers mainly focused on Colorado Senate Bill 183, “Coverage for Pregnancy-Related Services,” which will require Colorado employee health insurance plans to cover abortion care and require the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to authorize reimbursements for abortion care under publicly funded insurance, including community members with coverage through Health First Colorado, and the Reproductive Health Care Program, established with the passage of Amendment 79 last November.
“We fought against Amendment 79, [which was] deceptively pitched to a voter as ‘cost-free,’” said Brittany Vessely, a board member of Pro-life Colorado and the executive director of the Colorado Catholic Conference. “SB25-183 sits on Governor Polis’ desk, forcing Colorado taxpayers to spend millions of dollars per year on abortions, even for out-of-state women. The fiscal note for SB 183 claims that it is cheaper to fund abortions than to fund births. It is a chilling measure of how far we’ve strayed from valuing life here in Colorado. Colorado has become ground zero in the national fight for life, but Pro-life Colorado remains united.”
According to the bill’s fiscal note, the bill requires an increase in General Fund appropriations of $1.5 million, and a decrease in cash and federal fund appropriations of $1.8 million to the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. The fiscal note goes on to point out, “Covering the cost of abortion care through Medicaid/CHP+ is also expected to increase the number of averted births by 30% … this represents the number of pregnancies that would have gone to term without access to abortion care through public health insurance. This is based on a small study from Louisiana, which was the only relevant research available measuring the number of Medicaid-eligible adults who would seek an abortion if covered, but could not otherwise pay out-of-pocket for the care. The fiscal note assumes the average reimbursement cost for labor and delivery is $3,850.” According to the fiscal note, Abortion procedures are assumed to be reimbursed at a rate of $1,300, and medication abortions are assumed to be reimbursed at a rate of $800.
“On net, the bill will decrease costs for HCPF by about $286,000 in FY 2025-26 and $573,000 in FY 2026-27 and ongoing,” reads the fiscal note. “These impacts are the net result of increased costs for abortion services and decreased costs from averted births. In the first full implementation year (FY 2026-27), costs for abortion services are estimated to be $5.9 million, while cost savings for averted births are estimated to be $6.4 million. Because the bill requires all abortion services to be state-funded, it will shift costs to the General Fund and decrease the use of cash and federal funds.”
In an open letter last week, Colorado’s Catholic bishops, including Archbishop Samuel Aquila, urged Polis to veto the bill. “In an abhorrent effort to offset the costs, the legislative fiscal note stated that the state will save money because more babies will be aborted, and the cost of abortion is cheaper than the cost of labor and delivery,” wrote the bishops. “Such a statement is an egregious reflection of the inhumane mentality behind the bill … Every human life, from conception to natural death, is a sacred gift from God. No act of law can change this truth, nor can it erase our moral obligation to defend the most vulnerable among us.”
Jennie Bradley-Lichter, president of the national March for Life, also spoke out against the bill. “We have to push back hard against this dangerous bill and against rhetoric that takes away a child’s dignity and reduces their worth to dollar signs,” she said.
Pro-choice advocates celebrated the passage of SB 183 last week. “It’s a win for health care providers in Colorado who will be able to act in the best interest of their patients, without fear or threats from extremists in other states,” said Cobalt President Karen Middleton in a news release. “We thank the bill sponsors for their work representing and reinforcing the will of Colorado voters. As Coloradans, our values mean abortion rights belong in the Colorado Constitution, people should be able to access that care with privacy and dignity, and abortion access should not depend on the source of someone’s insurance, whether it’s public or private.”
This year’s March for Life featured a small contingent of pro-abortion protesters. “Abortion saved my life, and I support women and what women want to do with their bodies,” said Birdy, who declined to give her last name. “I had a really troublesome teen years, and I was homeless when I was 17 and at 18 and I was assaulted by homeless people. I got pregnant and I ended up going to treatment. I got my way into treatment shortly after that, but that’s when I found out I was pregnant, and also found out that that meant I would have to be off all of my medication. I’m bipolar — anytime I’ve been off my bipolar meds, I have almost killed myself. It’s really, really scary. I was 18. I didn’t have anyone around me. I was alone in treatment and I couldn’t afford it, and having that opportunity to get an abortion allowed me to, one, stay on my life-saving medication and, two, successfully complete treatment and get the help I needed for myself to get myself back on my feet.”
