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Colorado has not repealed its pre-Roe abortion ban, which is unconstitutional and unenforceable.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 that assault or incest occurred, and fewer than 16 weeks of gestation have passed.
Any person who intentionally provides unauthorized abortion care is guilty of a felony. Any person who knowingly distributes an abortifacient, reasonably believing it is to be used to cause an abortion, to someone other than a licensed physician is guilty of a misdemeanor. Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 18-6-101 to -105 (Enacted 1967; Last Amended 1994).
Based on the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Roe, a court held that all of these provisions, except the requirement that abortion services be provided by licensed physicians using accepted medical procedures, are unconstitutional. People v. Norton, 507 P.2d 862 (Colo. 1973).
