One More Win for Abortion Rights: Colorado Votes to Protect Procedure

It’s nearing 12:00 p.m. EST on Election Night and the vibes aren’t great, but the number of states supporting abortion rights are, so far, outnumbering the states that aren’t.

New York passed their abortion rights amendment and so did Arizona. Florida‘s Amendment 4 did not pass, despite the majority of Floridians voting in favor of it. The state has a 60% threshold for any amendment to pass, and Amendment 4 only got 57% of the vote. It’s a pretty devastating loss.

But Coloradans showed up and voted “Yes” on Amendment 79, which will enshrine a right to abortion in the state constitution and also will repeal a 40-year-old ban on using government funds for abortions. So if someone has Medicaid, or is a government employee with a state health plan, then any abortion procedure should be covered by their insurance.

The Associated Press called the race at 10:40 p.m. EST, declaring that Amendment 79 passed with 60.9% of the vote. (Similar to Florida, but not quite as high of a threshold, the Colorado measure needed 55% of the vote to pass.) Abortion has been legal in Colorado since 1967, but Amendment 79 will ensure that future Colorado legislatures can’t ban the procedure.

As we wait for the big election results, it still remains reassuring that a majority of Americans are continuing to prove that they support and want to protect abortion rights.