12-MONTH BIRTH CONTROL SUPPLY PASSES SENATE Planned Parenthood Praises Action to Reduce Unintended Pregnancies

DENVER, CO—A bill (HB 17-1186) to allow Colorado women to fill birth control prescriptions for a one-year supply today cleared another hurdle in the Senate.

“This is an incredible step toward for women and families. It means fewer trips to the pharmacy for people with busy lives or who live in rural areas with longer travel times. It also will result in reducing the number of unintended pregnancies, with a longer reliable supply of birth control. It just gives more stability to women and gives families’ ability to plan their lives,” said Sarah Taylor-Nanista, Vice President of Public Affairs of Planned Parenthood Votes Colorado.

Currently, women can only receive up to three month’s supply of contraception at a time. More than 90% of women in the U.S. use some type of birth control at some point in their lifetime.

Taylor-Nanista praised the lawmakers who supported the measure, a very different outcome than the disappointing defeat of a similar bill last year.

The bill failed in a Senate committee in 2016, never making it to the full Senate. This year, the bill had bipartisan sponsors – Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Lakewood), Rep. Lois Landgraf (R-Fountain) and Sen. Don Coram (R-Montrose) – and bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate. The 12-month contraception bill passed unanimously in the Senate State Affairs committee last week.

Sen. Coram called the bill a common sense measure that he was proud to carry.

HB 17-1186 still needs final approval in the Senate.

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