OUTRAGED COLORADANS RALLY AT CAPITOL TO PROTEST GOVERNOR OWENS' VETO OF CONTRACEPTION BILL
Press Release OUTRAGED COLORADANS RALLY AT CAPITOL TO
PROTEST GOVERNOR OWENS’ VETO OF CONTRACEPTION BILLREPUBLICANS, RAPE VICTIM ADVOCATES
ENCOURAGE LEGISLATURE TO VOTE TO OVERRIDEDENVER – Today hundreds of Coloradans, outraged at Governor Owens’s veto of the Emergency Contraception bill, rallied at the State Capitol to urge Legislators to override his veto. Members of the Protect Families Protect Choice Coalition, including the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CCASA) and the Republican Majority for Choice, joined the sponsors of HB 1042 to support the bill that would require hospitals to provide information about Emergency Contraception to sexual assault survivors. “Rape victims deserve to be given all possible and relevant information in order to, by their own moral compass, make a decision regarding Emergency Contraception,” said Teresa Zube McMahon. McMahon is a rape survivor who became pregnant as a result of the attack. “I only wish I had known about Emergency Contraception at the time of the attack,” McMahon continued. “I am one survivor of many. I am here in the hopes that I might prevent another woman from feeling powerless and traumatized again,” stated McMahon, as she explained that HB 1042 would provide rape survivors with information that could prevent pregnancy as a result of the assault. “As a fellow Republican, a Catholic and one of his constituents, I was shocked at Governor Owens’ disregard for common sense. HB 1042 was about compassionate medical care and protecting victims of a violent crime, not personal beliefs and pandering,” said Republican Majority for Choice Colorado spokesperson, Amanda Mountjoy. “Governor Owens blatantly placed politics before medicine and humane care, leaving rape victims with the short end of the stick. Hospitals have a responsibility to provide the best medical services to all citizens and not to withhold medical care in a discriminatory way. That is why the state legislature MUST fix the Governor’s wrongdoing and support this override,” Mountjoy concluded. “Governor Owens, by vetoing this legislation, you have said that rape victims should suffer further injustice – that they are not entitled to information that would allow them to choose between preventing pregnancy or becoming pregnant as a result of rape,” stated Jennifer Eyl, representing the Colorado Coalition against Sexual Assault (CCASA). Representative Betty Boyd and Senator Jennifer Veiga are the sponsors of HB 1042 and addressed the crowd in support of the override vote planned for next week in the State House. Coalition Organizations Supporting HB 1042 – EC for Rape Survivors: ACLU of Colorado, CCASA (Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault), Colorado League of Women Voters, Colorado NOW, Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR), Colorado RCRC (Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice), Colorado Women’s Agenda, NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, Republican Majority for Choice, Rocky Mountain Riveters, Women’s Health (Boulder Valley Women’s Health Center), Women’s Lobby of Colorado, White House Project # # #
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