Colorado voters face decision on banning gender-affirming surgeries for minors
Colorado will vote on Proposition 135, which would prohibit surgeries that alter a minor’s biological sex, potentially adding the state to a growing list of jurisdictions with such bans.
Colorado voters will decide on Proposition 135 in the November 3 election, a proposal that would ban gender-affirming surgeries on minors and prohibit the use of government or insurance funds for those procedures. If approved, Colorado would join roughly 20 states that have enacted comparable restrictions, including at least 19 that specifically target surgeries. The ballot guide notes that the state's three large pediatric surgical systems—Children’s Hospital Colorado, Rocky Mountain Children’s and Denver Health—report they no longer perform gender-related surgeries on patients under 18.
Advocacy group Do No Harm cites 60 cases of such surgeries in the state since 2023, though Denver Health disputes the methodology. A recent Department of Health and Human Services rule, effective Oct. 13, bars Medicaid from covering these surgeries nationwide. Polling suggests a close race, with a slim majority supporting the ban and a stronger margin in El Paso County.
Why it matters
The vote could shape access to gender-affirming care for Colorado youth and influence similar policies elsewhere.
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