CURRENT LAWS AGAINST CHILDREN AND PARENTAL RIGHTS IN COLORADO
LAWS FROM THE 2026 LEGISLATIVE SESSION:
SB26-018 Legal Protections for the Dignity of Minors: This bill requires courts in custody cases to consider whether each parent affirms a child’s stated gender identity when deciding parenting time and decision-making authority. thanks to your presence, this bill was amended and the most controversial part of the bill (custody cases) was removed. However, the bill still requires the court to suppress a record associated with a petition seeking to change the name of a minor without parental consent.
Status: Passed the Senate and sent to the House. Assigned to the Judiciary Committee.
HB26-1082 Children are Not for Sale Act: The bill change the penalty for human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude from a class 2 felony to a class 1 felony and requires the court to sentence a person convicted of the felony to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Status: It was postponed indefinitely (killed/failed) in committee.
HB26-1085 Offer Pregnant Person Do Not Abort: Requires a pregnant patient’s health-care provider to offer a “Do Not Abort” form stating the patient’s wish not to receive an abortion if incapacitated or incapable of communicating.
Status: It was postponed indefinitely (killed/failed) in committee.
HB26-1087 Safeguard Minors from Sex-Altering Interventions: Bans gender-affirming care for minors under 18—including surgery, puberty blockers, and hormones—cuts public funding, and makes providing such care a felony. It also protects parents from penalties if they do not affirm a child’s gender identity.
Status: It was postponed indefinitely (killed/failed) in committee.
HB26-1141 Discriminatory Practices in Public Schools: Concerning civil rights violations involving discriminatory practices in public schools K-12 or a public institution of higher education, or employee of a public school or school district to take certain actions related to access to a public school because of disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, national origin, or ancestry. The bill allows the Colorado Civil Rights Commission to file charges against schools and individuals who violate this law.
Status: Passed House committee.
HB26-1024 Raising the Age of Voluntary Relinquishment of a Child: The bill allows a parent to voluntarily relinquish their child if the child is 30 days old or younger.
Status: House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments. Heading to the Senate.
SB26-015 Commercial Sexual Activity with a Child Offenses: This bill increases penalty for child sex trafficking and exploitation. Increases accountability for those who buy, arrange, or profit from commercial sexual activity involving children.
Status: PASSED the Senate Committee. Senate Committee on Judiciary Refer Amended to Appropriations.
HB26-1040 Sterilization Rights of Person with Disabilities: The bill requires a person with an intellectual and developmental disability to receive counseling on the long-term impacts of sterilization and the less intrusive means available to prevent pregnancy before the person consents to sterilization. The bill prohibits sterilization against the person's will, regardless of whether the person is deemed competent to consent, unless maintaining fertility or a pregnancy would pose an imminent threat to the life or health of the person and in accordance with processes in existing law that allow another person with legal authority to make medical decisions for the person to consent on the person's behalf.
Sign-up to Testify: Wednesday, March 4th, Health & Human Services. Time: Upon adjournment. Old Supreme Court.
SB26-097 Decriminalize Adult Commercial Sexual Activity: This bill would make Colorado the first state in the nation to enact statewide decriminalization of prostitution, fully removing criminal penalties. It would go even further by expressly preempting statutory or home rule city, town, city and county, or county ordinances, resolutions, regulations, or codes criminalizing prostitution.
There is serious concern that decriminalizing of prostitution can create conditions that allow sex trafficking to expand and hide in plain sight. The Safe House Project, a national nonprofit dedicated to eradicating human trafficking, has published a troubling report examining the experience in Nevada, where prostitution is legal but far more regulated than what this Colorado bill proposes.
The tragedy does not stop there. Unplanned pregnancies are also common among trafficking victims, deepening cycles of trauma, control, exploitation, and abortions.
Status: Introduced In the Senate - Assigned to Judiciary, but not time or date yet.
NEW BILLS INTRODUCED:
HB26-1105 Discuss Adoption Info. with Pregnant Persons. The bill requires a health-care provider to discuss information related to adoption with a pregnant person seeking an abortion.
Sign-up to Testify: Tuesday, March 10th, Hearing: House Health & Human Services. HCR 0112 Time: Upon adjournment.
SB26-075-Trafficking & Commercial Sexual Activity Offenses: The bill changes sentencing requirements for human trafficking and certain pimping offenses, permitting a court to consider the source of funds when making bond determinations, and updating references to offenses involving commercial sexual activity with a child.
Sign-up to Testify: Wednesday, March 4th, Senate Judiciary. Old Supreme Court. Time: 1:30pm.
HB26-1243 CDPHE Regulation of Abortion Clinics: Concerning the regulation of medical facilities that perform induced abortions after the first trimester of pregnancy.
Sign-up to Testify: Monday, March 9th, House State, Civic, Military & Veterans Affairs. Old State Library. Time: 1:30pm.
HB26-1292 -Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGO). This bill establishes requirements for all private schools that receive funds from a scholarship granting organization to not discriminate on the bases of any student's parents, family members, race, ethnicity, religion, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, etc. What's a SGO? A Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO) is a non-profit entity, typically a 501(c)(3) organization, whose primary mission is to provide scholarships to eligible K-12 students for attendance at qualified private schools.
Sign-up to Testify: Thursday, March 12th, House Education. Time: 1:30 PM | HCR 0107
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LAWS FROM THE 2025 STATE LEGISLATURE SESSION
SJR 4 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 25-004:
Designates January 22 as "Reproductive Rights and Justice Day" or "Abortion Day."
HB 25-1309 Protect Access to Gender-Affirming Health Care
The bill codifies gender-affirming health care treatments in statute and prohibits a health benefit plan from denying or limiting medically necessary gender-affirming health care. "Gender-affirming health care" is defined in the bill as supplies, care, and services of a medical, behavioral health, mental health, psychiatric, habilitative, surgical, therapeutic, diagnostic, preventive, rehabilitative, or supportive nature relating to the treatment of gender dysphoria. "GENDER-AFFIRMING HEALTH CARE" includes the following: a) hormone therapy, b) blepharoplasty, eye, and lid c) face, forehead, or neck skin tightening d) facial bone remodeling e) genioplasty f) rhytidectomy for the cheek, chin, or neck g) cheek, chin, or nose implants; h) lip lift or augmentation i) mandibular angle augmentation, creation, or reduction j) orbital recontouring k) rhinoplasty l) laser or electrolysis hair removal m) breast or chest augmentation, reduction, or construction; and n) genital and nongenital surgical procedures.
In addition, the bill exempts prescriptions for testosterone from the tracking requirements of the prescription drug use monitoring program and blocks archived records from view.
STATUS: Signed by Governor Polis. It’s the law. The bill contained the SAFETY CLAUSE.
HB25-1312 Legal Protections for Transgender Individuals
The bill indicates that when making child custody decisions and determining the best interests of a child for purposes of parenting time, a court shall consider deadnaming, misgendering, or threatening to publish material related to an individual's gender-affirming health-care services as types of coercive control. A court shall consider reports of coercive control when determining the allocation of parental responsibilities in accordance with the best interests of the child.
The bill prohibits a Colorado court from applying or giving any force or effect to another state's law that authorizes a state agency to remove a child from the child's parent or guardian because the parent or guardian allowed the child to receive gender-affirming health-care services.
Under the bill, deadnaming is defined as referring to an individual by their birth name rather than their chosen name with the intent to disregard their gender identity or gender expression. Misgendering is defined as intentionally referring to an individual using a pronoun that conflicts with the individual's gender identity or gender expression. Deadnaming and misgendering would also be defined as discriminatory acts in the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act.
The bill would require that schools, if they establish policies related to chosen names, must include all reasons that a student might choose to use a name that’s different from their legal name. Dress code policies must also not include any rules based on gender, and each student must be permitted to abide by any variation of the dress code based on gender.
The fiscal note indicates that in FY 2025-26 only, the bill increases state expenditures across several departments by $14.1 million to update all public forms and databases with an option for “chosen name” and ensure that existing systems coordinate to include chosen name on all subsequent forms.
STATUS: Signed by Governor Polis. It’s the law. The bill contained the SAFETY CLAUSE.
SR25-008 Transgender Day of Visibility
designation of March 31, 2025, as "Transgender Day of Visibility" in Colorado.
STATUS: Passed.
SB25-063 Library Resource Decision Standards for Public Schools
It makes it harder to challenge inappropriate material in public school libraries. It requires public schools including charter schools, to set policies regarding how to handle material that has been challenged from the school library. The bill requires that only a parent of an enrolled student at that school can submit a request to reconsider a library resource and could not be reconsidered more than once every two years.
STATUS: Signed by Governor Polis. It's now the law. The bill contained the SAFETY CLAUSE.
SB25-129 Protections for Legally Protected Health Care Activities:
This bill will expand Colorado's “shield laws.” SB25-129 will provide comprehensive protection for individuals and entities involved in abortion and gender affirmation. This bill will include telehealth and privacy in prescribing. In this way, this bill clarifies the requirements for out-of-state telehealth providers, allowing prescriptions for certain medications, such as abortion pills, to include only the name of the medical practice and not the name of the of the prescribing professional.
The bill prohibits Colorado residents and businesses from responding to inquiries or investigations conducted out of state that seek to impose sanctions on individuals or entities that provide gender affirming care or abortions.
STATUS: Signed by Governor Polis. It's now the law. The bill contained the SAFETY CLAUSE.
SB25-130 Providing Emergency Medical Services:
Brief Summary and History: The federal Emergency Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) was enacted in 1986. Under the law, hospitals that receive federal funding must provide “stabilizing treatment” for “emergency medical conditions.”
On July 11, 2022, under the administration of President Biden, the Department of Health and Human Services issued new guidance stating that abortion was included in EMTALA’s definition of stabilizing care. This bill requires hospital emergency departments to provide abortion services if “necessary to stabilize the patient.”
STATUS: Signed by Governor Polis. It's now the law. The bill contained the SAFETY CLAUSE.
SB25-183 Coverage for Pregnancy-Related Services
The bill requires the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to cover for abortions for Medicaid and Child Health Plan Plus program participants and requires that all services be reimbursed with state funds only. Also, for public employee insurance plans to cover abortion care services for plan members.
The fiscal note for this bill projects that paying for abortions will represent savings for the state, since Medicaid-covered births are more expensive than abortions. It indicates that “abortion services represent a one-time expenditure.”
STATUS: Signed by Governor Polis. It's now the law. The bill contained the SAFETY CLAUSE.
HB25-1073 Protections Against Child Rape
Current law permits the court to sentence a sex offender to probation for an indeterminate period based on the class of felony.
The bill will require a mandatory minimum period of incarceration for a class 4 and a class 3 felony for a sexual assault on a child.
It will also prohibit a court from sentencing these types of offenders to probation.
STATUS: Bill killed in the House Committee on Judiciary.
HB25-1145 Trafficking Minor for Abortion or Transgender Care:
A person, including a corporation or governmental agency, commits human trafficking of a minor for an abortion or gender-affirming health-care services if the person transports an out-of-state minor who is under 18 years of age into Colorado for the purpose of assisting the minor in obtaining an abortion or gender-affirming health-care services.
STATUS: Bill killed in the House Committee on Judiciary.
HB25-1231 Protect Minors from Sexual or Pornographic Content
The bill prohibits an individual, organization, or entity from:
-Permitting a minor to attend events, performances, or activities explicitly involving sexual content or pornographic materials; or
-Exposing a minor to pornographic materials in any form, including digital, print, or broadcast mediums.
The prohibition does not apply to:
Educational materials or school programs explicitly designed for age-appropriate sex education in accordance with local and federal regulations; or Parental or guardian discussions about sexual health and development appropriate to the child's maturity level.
A violation is an unclassified misdemeanor, and for the first violation the penalty is a fine of up to $10,000. A second or subsequent violation is subject to a sentence of up to 2 years in jail. A violator is also subject to revocation of a business license if the violator is an establishment that knowingly permits such exposure.
STATUS: Bill killed in the House Committee on State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs.
HB25-1251 – Parental Consent to Treatment of a Minor
The bill prohibits an individual, corporation, association, organization, state-supported institution, or individual employed by any of these entities from procuring, soliciting to perform, arranging for the performance of, or performing a surgical procedure, or providing other medical or mental health services to a minor without written or verbal consent from the minor's parent.
STATUS: Bill killed in the House Committee on Health & Human Services.
HB25-1252 Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment Regulation of Abortion Clinics:
The bill requires the department of public health and environment to annually license and to establish and enforce standards for the operation of medical facilities that perform medical or surgically induced abortions performed during the riskier second or third trimester of pregnancy.
STATUS: Bill killed in the House Committee on Health & Human Services.
HB25-1255 Health-Care Provider Right to Exercise Conscience:
The act recognizes that a health-care professional, health-care institution, and health-care payer (health-care provider) has a right of conscience. Importantly, the legislation emphasizes that the right of conscience is limited to specific procedures, such as abortion, that conflict with a provider's beliefs and does not exempt providers from their other professional obligations.
STATUS: Bill killed in the House Committee on Judiciary.
HB25-1257 – Relinquishment of Child in Newborn Safety Device:
The bill authorizes a fire station, hospital, or community clinic emergency center (authorized facility) to install a newborn safety device on its premises for parents who voluntarily relinquish their child who is 60 days old or younger. A newborn safety device must be installed in a conspicuous location at the authorized facility and be equipped with a dual alarm system.
STATUS: Bill killed in the House Committee on Health & Human Services.
SB25-118 Health Insurance Prenatal Care No Cost-Sharing:
This bill requires health insurance policies in Colorado that provide maternity coverage to offer prenatal care services without any cost sharing (meaning no copayments, deductibles, or out-of-pocket expenses) for policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027. The prenatal care coverage must include regular office visits, screenings, testing, and monitoring services related to pregnancy. The bill is designed to make prenatal healthcare more accessible by removing financial barriers that might discourage pregnant individuals from seeking necessary medical care during pregnancy.
STATUS: Signed by the Governor. It’s the law.
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COLORADO STATE AMENDMENT 79 or RHEA II APPROVED IN NOVEMBER 2024
Colorado voters approved Amendment 79 back in November, which:
•Repealed the state constitutional amendment prohibiting the use of public funds to pay for abortions;
•Added a state constitutional amendment recognizing the right to abortion and prohibits Colorado state and local governments from denying, impeding, or discriminating against the exercise of an abortion. Therefore, establishing the legalization of abortions on-demand, without any restrictions for the full 40 weeks of pregnancy or until the moment of birth.
•Eliminated the only abortion restriction enforced in Colorado – parental notification, which was the law in Colorado.
Currently, Colorado has no minimum health standards for abortion clinics. Nor are there any regulations or inspections for abortion clinics in our state. Amendment 79 guarantees unrestricted, unregulated, taxpayer-funded access to abortion. Despite being completely unregulated, abortion is the only protected medical intervention set forth in the Colorado Constitution's Bill of Rights.
Second and third trimester abortion clinics are unlicensed, unregulated, and uninspected in our state even though late-term abortion procedures are high-risk. We know that Colorado already oversees thousands of health care facilities, including birthing centers, community clinics, rural health clinics, rehabilitation centers, ambulatory surgery centers, freestanding emergency departments, dialysis centers, nursing homes, mental health centers, portable x-ray services, and physical therapy services, etc. However, no such regulation or oversight applies to abortion policies in Colorado, as Amendment 79 prohibits anything that denies, prevents, or discriminates against the provision of abortion. Likewise, Amendment 79 does not allow for prudent health and safety standards to be set or enforced in relation to second- and third-trimester abortion clinics. Without regulations, women’s health and lives will continue to be at risk.
Amendment 79 officially removes the only abortion restriction that applied in Colorado: parental notification. A girl who becomes pregnant after sexual abuse, violence or sex trafficking could be coerced or forced to have an abortion, without the parents' knowledge, thus protecting the perpetrators and harming the girls.
Amendment 79 also prevents Coloradans and their elected representatives in the legislature from enacting abortion restrictions late in pregnancy, when the baby could survive independently of its mother if born prematurely. It also does not allow for any protections for women.
At Life Decisions, we believe there are more compassionate ways to address the needs of pregnant women. Colorado offers many resources, and it is important to inform the community of them.
By creating a new constitutional right to abortion, the conscience rights of doctors, nurses, and nurse practitioners have been compromised. Amendment 79 can threaten these professionals with termination if they do not refer women for abortions or participate in abortions, even if it is contrary to their core beliefs and values. The 79th Amendment also prevents professional medical organizations or state governments from regulating abortion methods and banning particularly cruel abortion procedures.
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LAWS FROM THE 2023 LEGISLATIVE SESSION:
SB23-188 Protection for Accessing Reproductive Health Care:
This law is considered a "shield law" and includes:
1) Prevents the state from recognizing or participating in criminal proceedings or lawsuits against individuals who provide or assist in “abortions or abortion-related services” or “gender-affirming practices” (transition surgeries, hormone therapy, etc.).
2) Provides protection for individuals traveling to Colorado for abortions or gender-affirming medical care from lawsuits and criminal proceedings brought in other states.
SB23-189 Increasing Access to Reproductive Health Care Services:
This law eliminates Amendment 3, passed in 1984, which prohibits public funding of abortion, established in Section 50 of Article V of the Colorado Constitution, or Amendment 3, by:
1) Requiring large employer insurance plans to cover the full cost of abortion, i.e., without deductibles, co-payments, or coinsurance. Requiring individual or small employer health plans to cover abortion if approved by the federal Department of Health and Human Services. A religious exemption is not guaranteed, but the judiciary or state courts may determine one.
2) Expanding the state-administered reproductive health care program. With the minor's consent, a health care provider acting within the scope of his or her license, certificate, or registration may provide contraceptive procedures, supplies, or information, or recommendations for abortions, to a minor without notifying or giving consent to the minor's parents, legal guardian, or any other person having custody of the minor.
SB23-190 Deceptive Trade Practices - Pregnancy-Related Services:
This law targets centers that provide help to pregnant women and alternatives to abortion. This law does two things:
1. Prohibits advertising by Pregnancy Resource Centers to pregnant women. This law aims to eliminate alternatives to abortion and the help that pregnant women who experience an unexpected pregnancy can receive from these centers.
2. Establishes that a health care provider engages in unprofessional behavior or is subject to discipline in this state if they provide, prescribe, administer, or attempt to reverse a medication abortion. This law prohibits the treatment that reverses the abortion pill.
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LAW FROM THE 2022 LEGISLATIVE SESSION:
HB22-1279 - Reproductive Health Equity Act (RHEA):
It legalizes on-demand abortions without any restrictions for the full 40 weeks of pregnancy or until the moment of birth. Allows abortion discrimination based on sex, race, or disability. It removes the parental notification requirement which means that your child can have an abortion on her own without parental involvement. It makes it easier for sex-trafficking to go unreported. This law targets “people of color” and poor people. It is discriminatory and racist against minorities. This law also takes away the conscience rights of healthcare professionals who work in public entities. It makes no exceptions on any grounds for the nurse or doctor who objects to performing an abortion. It enshrines in the state law that “a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent or derivative rights under the laws of this State.” It prohibits any regulation of abortion. Thus, encouraging “back-alley abortions.”
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LAW FROM THE 2021 LEGISLATIVE SESSION:
SB21-016 - Protecting Preventive Health Care Coverage:
This law expands access to certain preventive health care services, including a wider variety of family planning services such as counseling, prevention, and screening for a sexually transmitted infection (STI). It adds contraception as a mandatory health benefit. This law allows to discuss, administer, dispense, or prescribe preventive measures or medication to minors to treat STI without the consent of a parent. “The consent of a parent or legal guardian is not a prerequisite for a minor to receive a consultation, examination, PREVENTIVE CARE, or treatment for sexually transmitted infections.”
*Colorado Revised Statute 13-22-105:
With the minor's consent, a health-care provider licensed, certified, or registered pursuant to title 12 who is acting within the health-care provider's scope of practice may furnish contraceptive procedures, supplies, or information to a minor without notification to or the consent of the minor's parent or parents, legal guardian, or any other person having custody of or decision-making responsibility for the minor.
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LAWS FROM THE 2019 LEGISLATIVE SESSION:
HB19-1032 - Comprehensive Human Sexuality Education:
This law was drafted by the pro-abortion organization Planned Parenthood. This organization claims to be "the largest provider of sex education in the United States." This law requires public schools that choose to teach a sex education curriculum to follow certain "comprehensive sex education" regulations. If sex education is offered, this law requires teachers to present abortion as a positive choice equal to life. Abstinence cannot be taught as the primary form of birth control. It incorporates the experiences and needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. It cannot include gender stereotypes such as the use of "male or female" or "man or woman." The teaching includes sexual material and descriptions of sexual activities. Gender, gender expression, and sexual orientation can be taught outside of human sexuality instruction and without parental notification.
HB19-1120 - Youth Mental Health Education and Suicide Prevention:
It allows the treatment of a minor’s mental health without parental consent. This law allows a minor 12 years of age or older to seek and obtain mental health services with or without the consent of the minor's parent or guardian if the minor is knowingly and voluntarily seeking the mental health services and these are deemed clinically necessary. If your child is 12 or older, school staff are legally not allowed to tell parents about any medical or mental health procedure if the child does not want the parents to know. The state's school-based health centers are mainly the places where this law is applied. These school health centers/clinics are on the school grounds of elementary, middle, and high schools in rural and urban areas. These school health centers offer behavioral health, mental health, abortion counseling, reproductive health, sexually transmitted infection testing, gender affirming, and LGBTQ+ services. Children are prescribed contraceptives and sex change hormones without the parents' knowledge.