What the Law Actually Does

Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 26-1335 on or around May 28, 2026. This is law, not a proposal.

Every Colorado college or university with a student health center must provide abortion medication services by August 1, 2027. Schools with on-site pharmacies must stock and dispense the drugs directly. Schools without pharmacies must at minimum write prescriptions for off-campus dispensing.

The two drugs involved are Mifepristone and Misoprostol — the standard two-drug regimen used in medication abortions. Mifepristone blocks progesterone, cutting off nourishment to the developing embryo. Misoprostol then causes uterine contractions to expel it. Both supporters and critics of the law agree on the basic pharmacology.

One Exemption. One.

Private religious institutions with a "sincerely held religious belief" opposing abortion are exempt. Regis University — a private Jesuit school in northwest Denver — is off the hook, according to Longmont Leader's May 28 report. Regis also doesn't have a student health center, so it was doubly exempt anyway.

Every other college with a health center is required to comply.

The University of Denver Is Already Moving

The University of Denver told Axios Denver it plans to offer the drugs through its Health and Counseling Center. Assistant Vice Chancellor of Health and Wellness Michael LaFarr confirmed the school is developing privacy policies and training staff specifically on mifepristone administration.

The university is moving fast on compliance planning for a law that doesn't take effect until mid-2027.

The Safety Concern Nobody's Headlining

Most coverage is overlooking a clinical argument from the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG). The group said student health centers are often "ill-equipped to manage its known and potentially serious complications" — specifically naming hemorrhage, incomplete abortion, and infection.

Board-certified OBGYNs are raising this concern based on medical readiness, not ideology.

Student health centers are generally set up to handle flu shots, STI testing, mental health referrals, and minor injuries. They are NOT emergency surgical facilities. If a medication abortion goes wrong — and complications do happen — the question of whether a campus health center has the staffing and equipment to respond is significant. Colorado Democrats and the law's proponents have not publicly addressed that concern with specific details.

The Numbers Behind This

Medication abortions now account for roughly two-thirds of all abortions in the United States, according to Guttmacher Institute data cited in the Longmont Leader's reporting. That's up from 53% in 2020 and 39% in 2017.

Guttmacher also reported 1.126 million abortions in the U.S. in the most recently available data. Of those, approximately 41% involved women aged 18-24 — the exact demographic Colorado's new law targets.

Democrats used these statistics to justify the bill. The demographic logic is sound on its face, but numbers alone don't address the facility readiness question.

The Political Context

Colorado voters enshrined abortion as a state constitutional right in November 2024. Polis signed conforming legislation in 2025. HB26-1335 is the next step in a deliberate, incremental expansion of abortion access at the state level.

Colorado has zero gestational limits on abortion — one of only a handful of states with that policy. This law fits cleanly into that framework.

Mifepristone is simultaneously facing a federal legal challenge from Louisiana, which has a full abortion ban. That case is still working through the courts. Colorado is moving in the exact opposite direction at the state level while federal litigation continues.

What Mainstream Coverage Is Getting Wrong

Left-leaning outlets are framing this purely as an access story — college students deserve convenient healthcare. That's one angle.

Breitbart covered the mechanics of the drugs in graphic clinical detail, which is accurate but framed to maximize revulsion rather than inform.

Neither side is spending time on the actual implementation challenge. What does staff training for mifepristone administration look like? What protocols are required for complications? What happens when a student hemorrhages in a campus health center at 10 PM? The law mandates the pills. It apparently doesn't mandate that health centers be medically equipped to handle what comes after.

That's a significant gap in the discussion.

The Current State

Colorado just turned its college health centers into abortion medication dispensaries. The political will is there, the law is signed, and the clock is running toward August 2027. Supporters have a coherent access argument backed by real demographic data. Critics have a coherent safety argument backed by real medical concerns.

Both arguments deserve honest examination. Right now, neither side is conducting that analysis. Students will end up discovering which argument was sound.