Emergency Contraception Bill Draws Opposition
Woman who was raped, Springs teens argue against HB 1212
By Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News
February 21, 2006 A Colorado Springs woman who was raped in an orange grove 20 years ago begged lawmakers Monday not to support a bill making it easier for women to get emergency contraception.
Angie Austin cried Monday when she said she didn't get pregnant from her ordeal at the hands of two men but even if she had, "I value life." "I have no right to become a part of destroying life," the 50-year-old told a House committee. Austin was among a string of witnesses who testified throughout the afternoon on House Bill 1212, which would allow pharmacists to dispense emergency contraception. "Emergency contraception is only effective if women have prompt access to it," said the bill's sponsor, Rep. Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood. "The sooner you take EC the better. This bill is about preventing pregnancy." She also said emergency contraception reduces the need for abortions. The Health and Human Services Committee voted 7-5 on a party-line vote to send the measure to the full House. Among those voting "no" was Rep. Bill Berens, R-Broomfield, who last year supported Boyd when she carried a different emergency contraception bill. "I am concerned about the physician not being in the loop," Berens said. The 2005 legislation required hospitals to provide information about emergency contraception to survivors of sexual assault. Republican Gov. Bill Owens vetoed it, in part because of concerns expressed by church-owned hospitals, so Boyd tried a different tack. Eight other states, she said, allow pharmacists to dispense emergency contraception. The governor has not said how he feels about the bill. "Call me Nostradamus, but I don't see this bill becoming law," said Rep. Mark Cloer, R-Colorado Springs. Members of the Colorado Pharmacists Association and the Colorado Medical Association back the measure.
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