In November 2024, Colorado voters did something amazing by passing Amendment 79: they put abortion rights in the Colorado Constitution, and they overturned a 40 year ban on public insurance coverage for abortion care. And they did it in overwhelming numbers, across the state and across party lines. Amendment 79 won a majority in all eight Congressional districts, Republican and Democratic alike, and surpassed the 55% threshold needed to win in five of them.
Even in the midst of the daily trauma, chaos, and threats at the federal level, Colorado continues to build on the success of our shared values on abortion rights and access. Colorado voters gave our elected officials a mandate in November with Amendment 79, and we fulfilled that mandate at the state legislature this year.
Three major reproductive health care bills backed by Cobalt passed in the 2025 General Assembly: SB25-129, SB25-130, and SB25-183.
SB25-183, Coverage for Pregnancy-Related Services, implements Colorado’s 2024 Right to Abortion ballot measure (Amendment 79), which puts abortion rights into the Colorado Constitution and removes a barrier to abortion access by lifting a ban on state public insurance coverage for abortion care. As a practical matter, the bill will put into place the mechanisms necessary for public insurance plans to include abortion care as a covered service. State public employees already pay insurance premiums, so SB25-183 ensures that abortion care, like other reproductive health care, is part of their overall plan.
SB25-129, Legally Protected Health-Care Activity Protections, reinforces Colorado’s reproductive health care shield law, enacted in 2023, to further protect patients and providers of reproductive health care in our state. Specifically, this bill shields patients, providers, and helpers of legally-protected health care from out-of-state criminal and civil threats, including criminal prosecution and imprisonment; extradition; civil lawsuits; court summons, subpoenas, and arrests; interstate investigations, divulging information, or assistance with investigations; and professional de-licensing and other discrimination.
The provisions of SB25-129 also specifically address enhanced data privacy. For example, if a provider mails medication abortion to a patient, the identity of the provider will remain confidential and list a practice name instead.
SB25-130, Providing Emergency Medical Services will guarantee emergency room care in Colorado, including abortion and miscarriage care, regardless of current uncertainty at the federal level. The legislation also includes enforcement mechanisms that ensure Colorado isn’t beholden to the Trump Administration when enforcing laws related to emergency medical service, including abortion care. Colorado is the first state in the nation to have independent enforcement of this federal law.
But these things — the ballot measure and the bills — don’t just magically happen. They took years of work — the work of advocacy organizations like Cobalt and our coalition allies building support, the work of thousands of volunteers, the work of constituents testifying and speaking up to their legislators, and the work of public servants shepherding bills through our General Assembly.
What this says to Coloradans is, no matter what happens in Washington, DC, we got you here at home. We are building protections, not just for providers and patients, but for our shared values as Coloradans: that bodily autonomy is a human right, abortion is health care, and health care must be equitable and available for all.
Yes, the privacy protections of Roe v. Wade are gone, the national right to abortion no longer exists, and there is much work left to be done. But Colorado has never been afraid of a challenge. We should be proud of our state’s bold leadership on abortion rights and access as an example for the rest of the country.
Karen Middleton is the President of COBALT, a Colorado nonprofit that helps patients access abortion care.
