Colorado House Fails To Override Governor's Veto of Bill Requiring Hospitals To Inform Rape Survivors of EC Availability
May 4, 2005
The Colorado House on Monday failed to override Gov. Bill Owens' (R) veto of a bill (HB 1042)  that would have required all hospitals in the state to inform sexual assault survivors of the availability of emergency contraception, which can prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of sexual intercourse, the Denver Post reports (Couch, Denver Post, 5/3). The bill—which was approved 46-19 in the state House and 22-13 in the state Senate—would have allowed individual health care workers but not hospitals to refrain from informing women about EC if they are morally opposed to it. However, health care workers with moral or religious objections would have been required to refer patients to another health professional who would be willing to discuss EC. Although hospitals would not have been exempt from providing EC information, the legislation would have allowed hospitals to refrain from providing the pills and instead refer women to pharmacies to obtain EC. Currently, hospitals in the state are not required to provide EC information to sexual assault survivors, and some refrain from providing such information. Owens, who is Catholic, vetoed the legislation last month, saying it was well-intentioned but probably unconstitutional because it would have forced some religious institutions to violate their ethical guidelines (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 4/7).
Details, Future Legislation
The House on Monday voted 35-30—nine votes short of the two-thirds majority needed—to overturn the veto, the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reports. Eleven Republican lawmakers who originally voted to approve the bill voted against overriding the governor's veto, according to the Daily Sentinel (Harrelson, Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, 5/3). State Rep. Betty Boyd (D), who sponsored the bill in the state House, said she has "no regrets" about attempting to override the veto and said she plans to introduce similar legislation next year, according to the Denver Rocky Mountain News (Scanlon, Denver Rocky Mountain News, 5/3). Owens, who has never had a veto overriden, said he appreciated "the fact that my party understands the role that vetoes play" despite some state Republicans' support of EC. House Speaker Andrew Romanoff (D) said state Democrats are "gearing up" to challenge Owens on the EC issue next year, the Associated Press reports (Paulson, Associated Press, 5/2).
Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, and sign up for E-mail delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro. The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of the Kaiser Family Foundation, by The Advisory Board Company. © 2005 by The Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
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