Inside the Dome: What’s Your Pro-Choice Policy Wish List?
The 2008 Legislative Session is just around the corner, and NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado is researching a slate of policies to ensure that all Colorado women and their families have access to the full range of reproductive health care options so they can make responsible, informed decisions to prevent unintended pregnancy, bear healthy children, or choose safe, legal abortion. As we move forward, we want to find out what you’d like to take action on in 2008! What are the issues you’ll come out and talk to your elected officials about? What will motivate you to join us for Lobby Day? What will you write letters to the editor about, or blog about, or post about on your Myspace and Facebook accounts? What will you talk to your neighbors and friends about? Or, what types of policies will make you proud to know are being considered in Colorado? A bit of a caveat: We can’t promise any one-year policy wonders. After all, it took us five long years to get a law on the books requiring health care facilities that treat sexual assault survivors to tell survivors about the availability and use of emergency contraception (EC) so they could reclaim control over their bodies. Here are a few ideas we’re considering – both for 2008 and for long-term consideration. What are your favorites? Prevention First: Policies and laws to empower Colorado women and their families to overcome the barriers to preventing unintended pregnancy. Some real-world examples: requiring health insurance plans to cover birth control, or pharmacies to fill prescriptions for birth control and EC, or finding a way to increase funding for prevention-related services for low-income individuals, or increasing the availability and accessibility of primary prevention care providers – whether family practitioners or county health agencies – in rural areas. Reproductive Rights: Policies and laws that protect a woman’s fundamental right to bear healthy pregnancies or to choose abortion. Some real-world examples: passing legislation codifying the right of women in Colorado to choose abortion, or defeating attempts to ban abortion outright or to make it harder for women to access abortion. So tell us: What’s on your pro-choice policy wish list for Colorado?
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