April 2007 Insider Update: Inside the Dome
Ritter Signs 1st Pro-Choice Bill in Nearly a Decade! The biggest choice-related legislative news in March came in the form of the signing of the first pro-choice bill in nearly a decade! On March 15, Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law Senate Bill 60, "Emergency Contraception Information for Sexual Assault Survivors," which was sponsored by choice champ Senator Betty Boyd (a Lakewood Democrat who has introduced legislation to expand access to emergency contraception 5 years in a row!) and Representative Anne McGihon (D-Denver). This critical prevention first law will help reduce unintended pregnancy and the need for abortion. The law ensures that Colorado women and their families will have access to the information they need to make responsible, informed decisions about important life issues – including how to prevent pregnancy following a brutal attack. In another step forward for important policy that promotes prevention first in reproductive health care, the House of Representatives voted 39-26 to approve House Bill 1292, a measure that would establish standards for comprehensive sex education courses in Colorado. Currently, Colorado has no uniform standards for sex education, which means Colorado's youth may receive misleading and incomplete information. HB 1292 (Todd, Windels), "Responsible Sex Education," would remedy that by requiring school boards to develop sex-ed curricula in line with standards based on comprehensive and scientifically and medically accurate information. The measure outlines standards that teach that abstinence from high-risk sexual behavior is the only way to avoid unwanted pregnancy and to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections and that provide medically accurate information about the health benefits of contraception. The bill passed 4-3 out of the Senate Education Committee on March 29 and is now on its way to the full Senate floor. Also during the first half of the legislative session, NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado led the effort to defeat a dangerous South Dakota-like abortion ban. Sponsored by freshman Senator Scott Renfroe (R-Greeley), the bill would have banned virtually all abortions in Colorado. And earlier this session, NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado and other choice advocates successfully rebuffed a measure sponsored by anti-choice Senator Dave Schultheis (R-Colorado Springs) that could have given the death penalty to doctors and women who performed or chose to have an abortion. Sen. Renfroe’s and Sen. Schultheis’s bills both were defeated in the Senate Judiciary Committee by 4-3 votes.
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