Abortion Ban

NEAR-TOTAL

Colorado has not repealed its pre-Roe abortion ban, which is unconstitutional and unenforceable.

The ban provides that a woman may not obtain an abortion unless it is authorized unanimously by a hospital board of three physicians that certifies in writing one of the following:  (1) continuation of the pregnancy is likely to result in the woman's death or the serious permanent impairment of her physical or mental health; (2) the woman is likely to deliver a child with grave and permanent physical deformity or mental retardation; or (3) the pregnancy resulted from sexual assault or incest, a district attorney certifies in writing that there is probable cause to believe the assault or incest occurred, and less than 16 weeks of gestation have passed.

Any person who intentionally performs an unauthorized abortion is guilty of a felony.  Any person who knowingly distributes an abortifacient, reasonably believing it is to be used as an abortifacient, to someone other than a licensed medical doctor or physician is guilty of a misdemeanor, and any person who advertises or sells a drug inducing abortion, except upon the written prescription of a physician of the city, village, or county in which the sale is made, shall be fined from $25 to $100.

Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 18-6-101 (Enacted 1967; Last Amended 1975), 18-6-102 (Enacted 1967), 18-6-105 (Enacted 1967); Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 25-1-665 (Enacted 1893), 25-1-666 (Enacted 1893), 25-1-667 (Enacted 1893).

Based on the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Roe, a court held that all of these provisions, except the requirement that abortions be performed by licensed physicians using accepted medical procedures, are unconstitutional.  People v. Norton, 507 P.2d 862 (Colo. 1973).