NARAL PRO-CHOICE COLORADO HAILS SIGNING OF FIRST PRO-CHOICE MEASURE IN NEARLY A DECADE
For Immediate Release
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Contact: Kathryn Wittneben
NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado
Office: 303.394.1973, ext. 12
kwittneben@ProChoiceColorado.org PHOTOS OF SIGNING CEREMONYNARAL PRO-CHOICE COLORADO HAILS SIGNING OF FIRST PRO-CHOICE MEASURE IN NEARLY A DECADE Governor Ritter’s signature on SB 60 provides Colorado women and their families with access to important resource to prevent unintended and unwanted pregnancy and promote women’s health DENVER (Mar. 15) – NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado hailed Governor Bill Ritter’s signing of SB 60 (Boyd, McGihon), “Emergency Contraception Information for Sexual Assault Survivors,” noting it was the first pro-choice measure signed into law since 1999. “It’s been nearly a decade since Colorado’s highest elected official put prevention first to advance women’s health care and provide the women in this state with access to the critical tools they need to make responsible, informed decisions about their health,” said Kathryn Wittneben, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado. “I’m extremely pleased that Governor Ritter has signed this important measure into law today,” said Senator Betty Boyd (D-Lakewood), prime sponsor of the bill. “After working on this issue for 5 years, I truly believe this law will ensure that one of our most vulnerable populations – women who have survived sexual assault – has access to information that can help them regain control over their lives. By receiving information about emergency contraception, assault survivors can make informed decisions about their health and begin the process of healing.” “SB 60 empowers women at risk of pregnancy from a brutal attack by giving them access to information they can use to reclaim the control over their bodies that was taken away during the assault. We applaud Governor Ritter’s commitment to helping assault survivors begin the process of healing by signing this bill,” Wittneben said. Sponsored by Boyd and Denver Democrat Anne McGihon, the law requires hospital emergency rooms to provide information about emergency contraception (EC) to sexual assault survivors as a basic standard of care. It also requires pharmacies that don’t stock Plan B®, the brand name of an emergency contraception regimen sold in the United States, to notify consumers via a conspicuously placed sign if the medication is unavailable. “Providing Colorado women with information about emergency contraception, which can prevent pregnancy if taken shortly after unprotected sex, puts prevention first in women’s health care,” said Wittneben. “By emphasizing prevention first in reproductive health policy, Colorado can reduce unintended or unwanted pregnancy rates, thereby increasing the health and economic self-sufficiency of Colorado women and girls and providing the foundation to create healthy lives, children, and communities.” 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 for over-the-counter, non-prescription access to women 18 and older. Women under 18 still require a prescription to obtain the drug. SB 60 received bi-partisan support from both chambers of the General Assembly, passing 56-9 in the House and 25-10 in the Senate. 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. ### Photos from SB 60 Signing Ceremony on March 15, 2007 all photos copyright (c) NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado Click on thumbnails for full images 
Governor Bill Ritter Jr.
Governor Bill Ritter Jr. Signing SB 60 (Boyd, McGihon), "Emergency Contraception Information for Sexual Assault Survivors" into Law
SB 60 Senate Sponsor Senator Betty Boyd (D-Lakewood)
SB 60 House Sponsor Representative Anne McGihon (D-Denver)
Representative Anne McGihon and Senator Betty Boyd watch Governor Bill Ritter Jr. sign SB 60 into law
Representative Anne McGihon, Governor Bill Ritter Jr., and Senator Betty Boyd after SB 60 was signed into law
| 
