It’s Official: A 22-Week Late-Term Abortion Ban Will Be on Colorado’s November Ballot

The Colorado Secretary of State yesterday made official what looked promising at the end of official petition signing on May 29: a 22-week abortion ban initiative will be on the November ballot in Colorado.

In a press release, the Elections Division of the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office announced that “Proposed Initiative 120 (‘Prohibition on Late-Term Abortion’) obtained the sufficient number of signatures needed to qualify for the 2020 General Election ballot.”

It wasn’t always so clear cut that the initiative would make the November ballot. When petitions were submitted in early March, organizers at Due Date Too Late provided over 137,000 signatures to meet a requirement of 124,632 valid ones. However, an audit by the Secretary of State resulted in deleting enough names to leave the effort about 10,000 short.

But under Colorado law, a two-week “cure period” is provided for organizers to go back out and collect more signatures to attempt to make up the deficiency. At the end of the cure period, Due Date Too Late delivered not just the required 10,000 signatures, but over 48,000.

And the group managed to collect those final signatures in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, when the state of Colorado was mostly shut down and citizens were urged to stay at home.

Organizers credited the 1500 volunteers throughout the state for the success of the final push. Focus on the Family also contributed with several emails alerting its Colorado friends to the last-ditch effort to gain enough signatures to put the initiative over the top.

In a press release celebrating the news of Initiative 120’s success, Due Date Too Late spokesperson Lauren Castillo noted:

“This is an incredible victory for Due Date Too Late and our dedicated volunteers, who worked tirelessly to ensure that Coloradans will have the chance to vote to save lives from late-term abortion in November. The numbers handed in are indicative of the overwhelming support for Initiative 120 and we are prepared and excited for the next step in the campaign.”

Due Date Too Late also notes that, according to a recent Gallup poll, 74% of Americans believe that there should be limitations on abortion. Colorado is one of only seven states where abortion is legal up to the moment of birth for any reason.

Photo from Due Date Too Late