New Bill Pushes a 24-Hour Wait and Adoption Conversations Before Abortions in Colorado

The Bottom Line

This bill would require health care providers to discuss adoption options at least 24 hours before performing an abortion, unless the patient explicitly opts out. It introduces a mandatory waiting period and specific state-directed talking points into reproductive health consultations.

What This Bill Actually Does

House Bill 26-1105 introduces a new legal requirement for health care facilities that provide abortion services in Colorado. Under this proposal, if a pregnant person requests an abortion, a health-care provider must discuss adoption as a "pregnancy outcome option" at least 24 hours before the procedure takes place. This effectively creates a 24-hour waiting period tied specifically to this informational discussion, fundamentally altering how quickly reproductive care can be administered in the state.

The bill gets highly specific about what this mandatory conversation needs to look like. The provider—defined broadly to include doctors, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, midwives, genetic counselors, physician's assistants, or even clinical social workers—must present the information in a private setting using plain language. Crucially, the discussion has to cover a strict six-point statutory checklist. This includes explaining the availability of financial assistance for prenatal and neonatal care, outlining the differences between private adoption and the child welfare system, and breaking down how the approval process for adoptive parents actually works. It also requires providers to explain confidentiality options and the immediate and long-term mental health outcomes for birth parents who choose adoption over abortion.

To balance this mandate, there is a built-in opt-out mechanism for patients. The legislation explicitly states that a pregnant person must be given the opportunity to ask questions, but they also have the absolute right to decline the discussion at any point after the provider initially brings up adoption. However, the legal burden rests entirely on the facility and the provider to initiate the conversation, ensure it is objective, and thoroughly document that they offered the legally required information.

What It Means for You

If you or someone you love ever needs to navigate reproductive health care in Colorado, this bill would directly change what that clinical experience looks and feels like. The most immediate and profound impact is the introduction of a 24-hour waiting period. Even if a patient ultimately declines the adoption discussion, the fact that the offer must be made 24 hours prior to the procedure means patients can no longer receive same-day care. This is a massive logistical shift, especially for Coloradans living in rural areas who might have to drive hours, book a hotel overnight, take extra time off work, or arrange extended childcare just to fulfill the waiting requirement.

Additionally, the bill changes the nature of the consultation itself. When sitting down with a doctor or nurse, the conversation would legally have to pivot to adoption options, including detailed explanations of financial assistance for childbirth and the nuances of private versus state adoptions. The bill even requires doctors to discuss the long-term mental health outcomes of choosing adoption. While the provider is legally required to present this in an "objective and unbiased manner," it injects a mandatory, state-directed script into a private medical appointment, which changes the dynamic between you and your doctor.

The critical protection for patients seeking autonomy is the opt-out provision. The bill ensures that once a provider mentions adoption, you have the right to shut down the rest of the conversation immediately. If a requirement like this ever takes effect, a practical step for patients would be to understand exactly when and how to exercise that opt-out right if they already know their preferred medical path. It is a stark reminder of how heavily state law can dictate the exact words your doctor is required to say.

What It Means for Your Business

For health care clinics, private medical practices, and hospitals, HB26-1105 represents a fundamental shift in operational workflows, compliance tracking, and risk management. If your facility provides abortion services, your administrative and clinical teams would need to completely overhaul their patient intake processes. The 24-hour requirement means your scheduling team can no longer book same-day consultations and procedures. You would need to build a rigid two-appointment system—one for the mandatory adoption offer and one for the procedure itself—which directly impacts patient volume, staffing schedules, and facility utilization.

Compliance and training would also require immediate, heavy investment. The bill mandates that providers cover a specific six-point checklist regarding adoption, including complex topics like mental health outcomes and the specifics of the private adoption approval process. Your clinical staff—whether they are physicians, nurses, or social workers—would need specialized training to ensure they are delivering this information in the legally required "objective and unbiased manner." Because the state dictates exactly what must be discussed, your legal counsel would need to draft standardized scripts and patient acknowledgment forms to prove compliance. Documenting exactly when a patient exercises their right to decline will be critical to protecting your professional license.

Furthermore, this impacts human resources and staffing logistics. The bill notes that if a specific health care provider is unwilling to have this discussion, "another willing health-care provider" at the facility must step in. Clinic administrators would need to audit their staff to identify who is willing and legally qualified to handle these mandatory consults. If you operate a facility in this space, the best evergreen preparation is to review your current intake protocols, consult with your legal team on how to track patient opt-outs seamlessly, and model the financial impact of shifting to a multi-day care model.

Follow the Money

From a strict taxpayer perspective, the direct cost of this bill to the state is essentially zero. The nonpartisan fiscal note confirms that no new appropriations or taxpayer funds are required to implement the mandate. The Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), which oversees medical licensing, would handle any minor workload increases—like sending updated guidance and compliance rules to licensed health care professionals—using their existing administrative budget.

However, there is a fascinating financial ripple effect mapped out by state economists regarding public health funding. If the mandatory adoption discussions actually lead to fewer abortions among patients enrolled in Colorado Medicaid, the state's Department of Health Care Policy and Financing could see a shift in expenditures. The state would spend less on abortion care services but would see a corresponding increase in labor, delivery, and neonatal care costs, which are typically much higher and require longer-term state support. Additionally, because the bill creates a mandatory 24-hour waiting period, Medicaid might have to cover an extra provider visit per patient just to satisfy the consultation requirement. Ultimately, state economists expect these financial shifts within the Medicaid system to balance out, resulting in a minimal net financial impact to the state's overall budget.

Where This Bill Stands

HB26-1105 is currently Dead. The latest official action came on 03/10/2026: House Committee on Health & Human Services Postpone Indefinitely.

That means the bill is no longer advancing this session. In practice, measures that are postponed indefinitely or otherwise declared lost generally stay dead unless they are reintroduced in a future session.