NARAL PRO-CHOICE COLORADO APPLAUDS SENATE PASSAGE OF SB 60
Colorado Senate vote moves Colorado one step closer to ensuring access to critical information, medical treatment to prevent unintended pregnancy and the need for abortion DENVER (Jan. 30) – NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado welcomed the Colorado Senate’s vote today to enact SB 60 (Boyd, McGihon), “Emergency Contraception Information for Sexual Assault Survivors.” Sponsored by Lakewood Democrat Senator Betty Boyd, the measure would require hospital emergency rooms to provide information about emergency contraception (EC) to sexual assault survivors as a basic standard of care. "SB 60 ensures women will be able to make responsible choices about their reproductive health. This measure empowers one of our must vulnerable populations – survivors of sexual assault – by providing them with accurate information to make informed choices about their bodies and their health," said Kathryn Wittneben, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado. "We congratulate Senator Boyd on carrying this bill through the Senate, and we applaud her commitment to making emergency contraception accessible to more Colorado women, thereby reducing the need for abortion." Emergency contraception (EC) is a high-dose of oral contraception approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to be taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex to prevent unintended pregnancy. Although some studies indicate EC is effective if taken within 120 hours, it has been proven to be up to 95 percent effective if taken within 24 hours. EC is not RU 486, a pill regimen with different hormones that terminates an existing pregnancy. EC works like ordinary birth control pills to prevent a potential pregnancy by inhibiting ovulation. In August 2006, the FDA approved Plan B®, the only brand of emergency contraception currently sold within the United States, for over-the-counter, non-prescription access to women 18 and older. Women under 18 still require a prescription to obtain the drug. "By passing SB 60, the Colorado Senate demonstrates that it reflects the mainstream values of Coloradans, who believe in a woman’s fundamental right to choose the best reproductive health care services for her situation," Wittneben said. "With today’s vote, the General Assembly has moved one step closer to providing increased access to the information and tools women need to prevent unintended pregnancy and reduce the need for abortion in Colorado. This measure ensures that women receive a scientifically based, generally accepted standard of medical care to make personal, private decisions about their reproductive health." NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado works to educate health care providers, women and others in Colorado’s reproductive health field about the availability of emergency contraception. The organization recently published a bilingual resource, The Emergency Contraception (EC) Resource Handbook for Colorado, which describes what emergency contraception is, when to use it, and where it is available in Colorado. The guide is available for download at www.ProChoiceColorado.org. NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado (NPCC) is the political-action arm of the pro-choice movement in Colorado. NPCC has more than 30,000 supporters statewide and works to develop and sustain a constituency that uses the political process to guarantee every woman the right to make personal decisions regarding the full range of reproductive health choices, including preventing unintended pregnancies, bearing healthy children and choosing legal abortion. ###For Immediate Release
Contact: Kathryn Wittneben
NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado
Office: 303.394.1973, ext. 12
kwittneben@ProChoiceColorado.org
| 
