Greater than seven months have handed for the reason that U.S. Supreme Courtroom choice that overturned Roe v. Wade, however that is the primary probability Colorado lawmakers have needed to work on laws in its aftermath.
Final yr, the Colorado Legislature handed the “Reproductive Well being Fairness Act,” guaranteeing the precise to abortions in state legislation. However lawmakers say that was simply step one, and simply because residents have the precise to get abortions doesn’t imply they’ve the entry.
That’s why the Colorado Democratic Girls’s Caucus — made up of a historic variety of ladies and folks of numerous backgrounds — made a package deal of three abortion payments one in every of its coverage priorities for 2023. The payments have a excessive chance of passing with a Democratic-controlled statehouse, and caucus co-chair Rep. Lisa Cutter famous that the caucus handed all of its priorities final yr.
The state Common Meeting solely meets from January-Might annually and the U.S. Supreme Courtroom Dobbs v. Girls’s Group choice was launched in June, so Colorado lawmakers have seemed to legal guidelines handed in different states which have full-time legislatures and recommendation from advocacy teams.
“I believe the query is, ‘how can we construct one thing higher than Roe? How can we transfer past authorized and into a spot the place well being care is accessible and reasonably priced for all folks?’” stated Jack Teter, coverage director for Deliberate Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.
This package deal of payments will handle the altering panorama throughout the U.S. and the “distinctive and nefarious actions” in surrounding states, stated Meg Froelich, a Greenwood Village Democrat.
“It’s a transferring goal,” she stated. “It’s far more sophisticated. You’re actually addressing what true entry means and there have been so many obstacles in existence even earlier than Roe fell.”
The ladies’s caucus has recognized 4 priorities for laws in 2023: three payments associated to secure entry for protected well being care, together with abortions; a invoice to assure a good workweek, or predictable schedules for workers; a invoice to strengthen the state’s 2019 Equal Pay Act; and a invoice to require knowledgeable consent for intimate medical exams.
A part of the standards for selecting these payments contains enhancing the lives of ladies and households and making developments for girls and households of shade in addition to trans ladies and people of different intersectionalities, stated co-chair Rep. Naquetta Ricks, an Aurora Democrat.
Abortion and gender-affirming care rights
After growing abortion restrictions and bans throughout the nation, a flood of sufferers have come to Colorado from different states. However sufferers and medical professionals fear about authorized penalties as different states attempt to punish those that search or help in getting abortions.
Gov. Jared Polis signed an govt order in July saying Colorado received’t cooperate with different states’ abortion investigations, and now lawmakers wish to codify that for suppliers and sufferers of abortions, different reproductive care and gender-affirming care.
Karen Middleton, govt director of Cobalt, stated the reproductive rights group has obtained experiences of medical doctors in Colorado getting known as by medical doctors in Texas threatening to report them as a result of a affected person had talked about they’d supplied them with an abortion. The proposed invoice would defend the privateness of each the medical doctors and their sufferers from potential lawsuits and felony expenses.
“We’re seeing extra laws like what we handed final yr and extra of a push to actions in some states, and we’ll proceed to see outrageous payments in states that already don’t have any entry to abortion,” Middleton stated.
One other invoice would require industrial insurers to cowl abortions, sexually transmitted infections remedy and ongoing monitoring for HIV prevention. It could additionally broaden the state reproductive well being care program to cowl household planning companies for people who find themselves undocumented and permit Medicaid to reimburse for transportation companies for abortion because it does for different well being companies.
It’s not a basic proper if solely sure folks can afford it, stated one of many invoice’s sponsors, Democratic Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet of Commerce Metropolis.
The third invoice within the package deal, spearheaded by the Colorado Group for Latina Alternative and Reproductive Rights, seeks to manage disaster being pregnant facilities, usually faith-based services that present counseling and restricted ultrasounds whereas making an attempt to steer ladies away from abortions. Critics argue that the services use misleading promoting to draw ladies and households.
The proposal seeks to bar the services from utilizing these practices and crack down on abortion-pill reversal — a controversial and unproven remedy that purports to halt a medication-induced abortion.
Lawmakers count on to unveil the package deal of payments later this month.
Regardless of the legislature’s make-up, Republicans have launched payments making an attempt to ban abortion, require medical suppliers to present sufferers details about abortion capsule reversal and require abortion suppliers to manage ache killers to “an unborn youngster.”
Knowledgeable consent for intimate exams
Lawmakers have seen entry to abortion as a selection sufferers ought to be capable to make for their very own our bodies, and on that very same precept, the ladies’s caucus has made Home Invoice 23-1077 one other precedence.
The invoice would require a affected person’s consent earlier than a medical skilled might carry out an intimate examination and would require consent for college kids or trainees to be current throughout such exams, together with pelvic, rectal, prostate and breast exams.
“Our our bodies are extraordinarily private and so we wish to make sure that consent extends past when a affected person is ready to give to consent in addition to once they’re below anesthesia,” stated Rep. Jenny Willford, a Northglenn Democrat and sponsor.
Honest Workweek
The caucus can also be supporting Home Invoice 23-1118, “Honest Workweek employment requirements,” which is scheduled for its first listening to Feb. 16.
This laws goals to present workers, notably within the meals and beverage sectors, extra predictability with work schedules. That features offering schedules with two weeks superior discover, 12 hour minimums between shifts and “predictability” pay if workers’ schedules change abruptly.
Equal pay for equal work
The caucus can also be backing Senate Invoice 23-105, geared toward strengthening the 2019 Equal Pay Act — guaranteeing ladies receives a commission the identical as males for a similar work.
This invoice would give the Division of Labor the authority to research claims, improve the variety of years ladies might obtain backpay for being underpaid from three to 6 and make clear some language about job postings.