Second Regular Session
Seventy-fourth General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO
REVISED
LLS NO. R24-0898.01 Katelyn Guderian x3205
SJR24-003
Senate Committees House Committees
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 24-003
C
ONCERNING THE DESIGNATION OF JANUARY 22 AS "ROE V. WADE101
A
NNIVERSARY DAY". 102
WHEREAS, On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court of the1
United States found in Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), that the United2
States Constitution protects the right to abortion; and3
WHEREAS, On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United4
States overturned the precedent established by Roe v. Wade (1973) and5
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992),6
ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, 142 S. Ct.7
2228 (2022) that the United States Constitution "does not confer a right8
to abortion" and that "the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the9
people and their elected representatives"; and10
HOUSE
Final Reading
January 19, 2024
SENATE
Final Reading
January 18, 2024
SENATE SPONSORSHIP
Gonzales and Winter F., Bridges, Buckner, Coleman, Cutter, Danielson, Fenberg, Fields,
Ginal, Hansen, Hinrichsen, Jaquez Lewis, Kolker, Marchman, Michaelson Jenet, Mullica,
Roberts, Rodriguez, Sullivan, Zenzinger, Exum
HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
Froelich and Garcia, Amabile, Bacon, Bird, Boesenecker, Brown, Clifford, deGruy
Kennedy, Daugherty, Duran, English, Hamrick, Hernandez, Herod, Jodeh, Joseph, Kipp,
Lieder, Lindsay, Lindstedt, Lukens, Mabrey, Martinez, Mauro, McCluskie, McCormick,
McLachlan, Ortiz, Parenti, Ricks, Rutinel, Sirota, Snyder, Story, Titone, Valdez, Velasco,
Vigil, Weissman, Willford, Woodrow, Young,
Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law.
Dashes through the words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law. WHEREAS, Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan issued a1
dissenting opinion in Dobbs, stating, "Whatever the exact scope of the2
coming laws, one result of today's decision is certain: the curtailment of3
women's rights, and of their status as free and equal citizens"; and4
WHEREAS, The surest protection against that curtailment of5
rights is now offered only by state legislatures and within state6
constitutions; and7
WHEREAS, Upon the Dobbs decision and again on the following8
anniversary of the 1973 Roe ruling, tens of thousands of Coloradans9
across the political spectrum took to the streets throughout the state to10
express their disappointment and rage; and11
WHEREAS, Overturning Roe has resulted in significant physical12
and mental trauma to, as well as significant financial burden on, people13
no longer able to access abortion care where they live and who must seek14
care elsewhere; and15
WHEREAS, Marginalized groups have been systemically denied16
equal access to abortion even before Roe was overturned, especially17
Black, Latine, and Indigenous people of color; people with lower18
incomes; and people in remote, rural, or underserved areas; and19
WHEREAS, On April 4, 2022, to secure the statutory right to20
abortion free from government interference in the face of the pending21
Dobbs decision, Governor Polis signed into law House Bill 22-127922
passed by the Colorado General Assembly, titled the "Reproductive23
Health Equity Act" or "RHEA"; and24
WHEREAS, On April 14, 2023, Governor Polis signed into law25
the package of three bills passed by the Colorado General Assembly titled26
the "Safe Access to Protected Health Care Package" or "SAPHC27
Package", which included Senate Bills 23-188, 23-189, and 23-190; and28
WHEREAS, Senate Bill 23-188 codified protections for29
Colorado's patients, providers, and helpers of abortion and30
gender-affirming care against out-of-state prosecutions, civil lawsuits,31
investigations, and extradition claims; and32
WHEREAS, Senate Bill 23-189 mandated that abortion be a33
covered service without deductibles, copays, or coinsurance under private34
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-2- health insurance plans, which protects Coloradans on private plans but1
not the hundreds of thousands of Coloradans on publicly funded2
insurance plans; and3
WHEREAS, Senate Bill 23-190 categorized the deliberate false4
advertising of abortion services as a deceptive trade practice; and5
WHEREAS, The right to abortion is still not currently an explicit6
constitutional right in Colorado and has therefore been challenged 497
times since 2010 in the state legislature; and8
WHEREAS, Colorado voters defeated fetal personhood9
amendments, which are total abortion bans, by 30% (Amendment 67) in10
2014, by 41% (Amendment 62) in 2010, and by 46% (Amendment 48) in11
2008; and12
WHEREAS, In 2020, Colorado voters defeated Proposition 115,13
a 22-week abortion ban, by 18%, with more votes cast opposing it than14
President Biden received on the same ballot; and15
WHEREAS, Amendment 3 of the Colorado Constitution, adopted16
in 1984 by a margin of fewer than 10,000 votes, forbids the use of public17
funds by state and local government to cover abortion; and18
WHEREAS, While Amendment 3 passed by less than 1% of the19
vote in 1984, in 2022, exit polling during Colorado's midterm elections20
found 63% of voter respondents agreed that Colorado's constitution21
should be amended to protect abortion; and22
WHEREAS, Polling has consistently shown that a significant23
majority of Colorado voters support an amendment making abortion a24
constitutional right and repealing the prohibition on health insurance25
coverage for abortion; and26
WHEREAS, For the past four decades, as a direct result of27
Amendment 3, Colorado state and local government employees and28
Coloradans enrolled in state insurance programs have been denied29
insurance coverage for abortion for themselves and their families,30
resulting in discriminatory and harmful effects on those impacted; and31
WHEREAS, Colorado was the first state in the nation to legalize32
abortion and Colorado has since led the nation, at the ballot box and in33
003
-3- the legislature, and should continue to lead the nation in protecting1
abortion access without restriction; and2
WHEREAS, In 2024, Coloradans will be asked to vote on the3
general election ballot on a constitutional amendment protecting abortion,4
thus repealing the earlier, discriminatory Amendment 3 of the Colorado5
Constitution from 1984; now, therefore,6
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Seventy-fourth General7
Assembly of the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives8
concurring herein:9
That we, the members of the Colorado General Assembly:10
(1) Recommend voters amend the Colorado Constitution to11
enshrine in it the right to abortion and prohibit Colorado state and local12
governments from denying or discriminating against the exercise of that13
right; and14
(2) Hereby designate January 22 of each year as "Roe v. Wade15
Anniversary Day".16
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