Planned Parenthood Votes Colorado Releases 2017 Legislative Scorecard
For Immediate Release: June 12, 2017 (Updated: June 12, 2017, 2 p.m.)
Denver, CO — Each year, Planned Parenthood Votes Colorado (PPVC) compiles a legislative scorecard to educate and inform voters about the record of support for reproductive health of current members of the Colorado General Assembly. The information presented is based on votes on key legislation related to reproductive health and rights.
“We are excited to have incredible reproductive health champions in the Colorado General Assembly. This group of legislators represents the best of Colorado values: independence, innovation, and community. They stand for access to health care and reproductive rights, and are champions for the women and men in all of Colorado. Unfortunately we also had some legislators who chose to try to undermine access to reproductive health care in our state, including safe and legal abortion. We hope to see more proactive legislation in the future that help Coloradan women, and fewer bills that would hurt their access to care,” said Sarah Taylor-Nanista.
PPVC’s standout champions this year included Representatives Brittany Pettersen (House District 28), Joann Ginal (House District 52), Leslie Herod (House District 8) and Joseph Salazar (House District 31), as well as Senators Irene Aguilar (Senate District 32), Kerry Donovan (Senate District 5) and Andy Kerr (Senate District 22). These legislators either worked to defeat anti-reproductive health care legislation or supported legislation to increase access to reproductive health care. These legislative wins included the passage of our 12 month contraceptive dispensing bill, which allows women to better access their monthly birth control and a resolution spearheaded by the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR), ensuring access reproductive health care in Colorado.
PPVC also helped to defeat five bills that would have created barriers to safe and legal abortion in Colorado, including a personhood bill, and two bills that would have allowed individuals and organizations to discriminate against others based on religious reasons. Sponsors and supporters of this dangerous legislation included Senators Tim Neville (Senate District l6) and Vicki Marble (Senate District 23) as well as Representative Dave Williams (House District 15).
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Planned Parenthood Votes Colorado is a non-partisan, 501(c)(4) non-profit organization. We engage in educational and electoral activity, including legislative advocacy, voter education, and grassroots organizing to promote the Planned Parenthood mission.