State laws to expand access, protect providers and patients
Colorado Democratic lawmakers introduced a package of three bills Thursday that, if passed, would increase and protect access to abortion and gender-affirming care in the state.
The proposed laws expand upon lawmakers’ passage of a 2022 law codifying the right to abortions at any stage of pregnancy after the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision guaranteeing the right to abortions.
The bills are starting in the Colorado Senate and they aim to put a stop to disinformation and deceptive practices by crisis pregnancy centers; protect patients and providers who have abortions and gender-affirming care from threats from other states; and require insurance coverage for reproductive health care, as previously reported by The Denver Post.
“Y’all felt the rage that so many of us experienced in our bodies and in our bones that the Supreme Court of this nation would so wholly undermine our ability to make decisions about our own bodies,” Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat and bill sponsor, said at a news conference at the Capitol.
The court’s ruling led lawmakers and advocates to get to work, she said. Cobalt, Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood and New Era Colorado worked with lawmakers to craft three bills. Here’s what each would do if it became law:
Prevent the state from recognizing or engaging in any criminal prosecutions or civil lawsuits for anyone who receives, provides or assists in abortions and gender-affirming care. It also prevents state employees from participating in any such interstate investigations.
Limit surprise billing and require coverage for reproductive health care and treatments, including abortion, sterilization and sexually-transmitted infections.
It also expands access to contraceptives and lets patients use Medicaid transportation for abortion services. And it allows any authorized provider to offer HIV medication, not just pharmacies.
Prohibit using “deceptive advertising” by crisis pregnancy centers and designate providers offering socalled abortion reversal medication as “unprofessional conduct.”
“Abortion is legal in Colorado, but legality does not equal accessibility,” said Rep. Elisabeth Epps of Denver and one of the bill sponsors. “Our lower-income communities and Coloradans of color face larger barriers and a disproportionate lack of access to protected health care.”
Epps noted that Colorado is one of a few states that offers abortion care in the region, making it among the “last line of defense to protect reproductive rights” for residents and those who come to Colorado for these services.