DENVER (LifeSiteNews) — Colorado taxpayers will now be forced to subsidize abortions in the state, following a new law signed by Democratic Governor Jared Polis.
Governor Jared Polis signed the legislation on Thursday, April 24. It will reportedly allocate a minimum of $1.5 million in taxpayer funds per year toward abortions, require state employee health insurance to cover abortion costs, and codify abortion up until birth.
Backers of the bill championed a legislative finding that the law will allegedly save money because killing babies with state dollars is cheaper than paying for births. The Democrats also championed the idea that the state will allegedly save money because instead of providing health coverage for poor residents, the state will just kill them off before they are born.
“Colorado is making sure that we are completely protecting the right to choose,” Gov. Polis said at the signing, criticizing what he called “government overreach” regarding pro-life policies at the federal level, as reported by The Denver Post.
Protecting the rights of preborn babies and making it harder for women to kill their babies is “not the Colorado way,” Polis explained.
The lieutenant governor also brought her granddaughter to the ceremony to celebrate that she will find it easier to kill the politician’s great-grandchild. “I want her to have the same rights that I did growing up,” Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera said.
Senate Bill 183 codifies a voter-passed referendum in November 2024 that removed restrictions on taxpayer funding for abortions. Prior to the vote, Colorado only subsidized the killing of its citizens if they were conceived in rape, incest, or alleged “life endangerment.”
Pro-lifers, however, affirm that the circumstances of conception do not determine someone’s value. Furthermore, direct abortion is never actually necessary, as medical experts have attested.
Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains also cheered on the bill’s passage and codification.
The Democrats pushing the bill suddenly turned into fiscal conservatives when it came to the bill.
As reported by LifeSiteNews:
During a March 25 House Health & Human Services Committee meeting, Democrat Colorado House Speaker Julie McCluskie argued for state-funded abortion services on the basis that abortion is less expensive than births.
“A birth is more expensive than an abortion,” she told the committee. “Ultimately, we do achieve a cost savings because of the averted births that will not take place.
“This bill will actually decrease costs (…) as the savings from averted births outweigh the costs of covering reproductive health care [i.e., the murder of the unborn] for all Coloradans,” McCluskie continued.
“Those savings come from the averted births that will not occur because abortions happened instead,” she argued.
The line of reasoning drew criticism from pro-life leaders.
“Seriously, the bill’s sponsors are saying that if more babies die by abortion, it will be cheaper for the state,” Dr. Catherine Wheeler, a pro-life OB-GYN and former abortion provider, told the committee.
Colorado’s bishops also had criticized the legislation.
“As the Catholic Bishops of Colorado, we write to express our deep disappointment and grave concern regarding SB 183, which violates the dignity of human life and disregards the safety of women and the conscience rights of millions of Coloradans who do not want to pay for abortion,” the bishops wrote.
Commenting on the cost savings argument, the prelates wrote it was “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,” they wrote.
The president of Students for Life of America also criticized the bill upon its signing.
Colorado: where “fiscal responsibility” now means spending millions to end lives instead of saving them.
Gov. Polis just signed a bill forcing taxpayers to fund abortions through Medicaid and state employee plans.
Congrats, Colorado—your budget now includes preborn casualties.…
— Kristan Hawkins (@KristanHawkins) April 25, 2025
“Colorado: where ‘fiscal responsibility” now means spending millions to end lives instead of saving them,” Kristan Hawkins wrote on X.
“Gov. Polis just signed a bill forcing taxpayers to fund abortions through Medicaid and state employee plans,” she wrote. “Congrats, Colorado—your budget now includes preborn casualties.”
