CCC Statement on Enactment of SB25-183 Abortion Financing Bill

Today, Governor Jared Polis signed SB25-183 “Coverage for Pregnancy Related Services” into law, which mandates, at a minimum, $1.5 million dollars per year be allocated out of the Colorado general revenue fund for state-funded Medicaid-covered elective abortions.

This law proves what opponents Amendment 79 in November argued: removing the prohibition on public funding for abortion will result in our legislature passing a multi-million dollar bill requiring Coloradans to fund elective abortion up-to-birth using our tax dollars.

Our data show that conservatively SB25-183 will cost more than $2 million per year, but in actuality it will likely cost closer to $8.5 million per year in tax-payer subsidized abortion.

The allocation of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to subsidize the deliberate ending of innocent life and harm of women is a tragedy for Colorado. Rather than using state resources to support life-affirming alternatives, SB25-183 prioritizes public funding of abortion at the expense of the lives of preborn children, the health of their mothers and the conscience rights of millions of Colorado taxpayers who morally object to abortion.

Dr. Michael New from the Charlotte Lozier Institute published recent data on SB 183 showing a conservative cost estimate of state-funded abortion for Medicaid is more than $2 million per year. This very conservative estimate is based off of an old percentage of Medicaid abortions from the Guttmacher Institute (Planned Parenthood’s former policy arm). Based on Guttmacher’s more recent Colorado data published in 2024, 62% of abortions were paid using Medicaid. Using those numbers, including the loss of federal support, we estimate the total cost to the state of SB 183 is closer to $8.5 million per year.