Colorado’s Democratic Governor Jared Polis signed three bills on Friday aimed at further safeguarding the rights of individuals seeking abortion and gender-affirming services in the state. This comes as the access to the so-called abortion pill across the country remains in limbo and some neighboring conservative states have moved to restrict such procedures.
One of the bills, SB23-188, aims to make Colorado a sanctuary for people from states with more restrictive laws who are seeking access to abortion and gender-affirming treatment. The new law prevents Colorado courts or judicial officers from issuing subpoenas in connection with a proceeding in another state that involves a person who receives or “performs, assists, or aids” an abortion or gender-affirming treatment in Colorado.
Another bill directs large employers to provide coverage for the total cost of abortion care starting next year. The third law will make it a “deceptive trade practice” for an entity to advertise that it “provides abortions, emergency contraceptives, or referrals for abortions or emergency contraceptives” when it does not.
Colorado’s Democratic-controlled state legislature passed all three bills earlier this month. Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham of neighboring New Mexico also signed similar legislation last month that prohibits local municipalities and other public bodies from interfering with a person’s ability to access reproductive or gender-affirming health care services in the state.
However, Republicans have criticized the new laws, with state House Minority Leader Mike Lynch saying they deny a woman the right to choose “alternative options other than to end her pregnancy.”
As Polis signed the bills into law on Friday, the access to the abortion drug mifepristone continued to play out in the courts. A US district judge in Texas said last week that he would suspend the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the abortion pill. US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito extended a hold on that lower-court ruling on Friday, putting off the deadline in the fast-moving dispute until Wednesday.
Colorado’s pro-LGBT legislation further safeguards access to reproductive and gender-affirming rights in the state, at a time when conservative neighboring states are moving to restrict such procedures.