After far too many years making decisions that hurt Colorado, Bill Owens has the chance to do something good for a change. Owens will have the chance to sign an Emergency Contraception bill into law (it’s already passed through Colorado’s House of Representatives).
“Gov. Bill Owens, a Roman Catholic who has campaigned on conservative values, could face a tough choice when he decides whether to sign a bill that would force hospitals to tell rape victims about emergency contraception.
“His fellow Republicans say the bill, given final legislative approval Tuesday, violates Catholic hospitals’ freedom of religion by forcing them to offer information about abortion. Democrats say the bill is not about abortion but offers help to women whose bodies have been violated.
“In the middle is Owens. He refused to take a position on the bill Tuesday, but his spokesman, Dan Hopkins, said he would ‘carefully consider’ it.”
Of course, state Republicans are trying to frame this as a religious freedom or abortion rights issue. But it is really much simpler than that. This bill seeks to provide relevant information to a woman who has just been raped. As Democratic Representative Fran Coleman put it, “‘This bill is about contraception, it’s about a violation to your body, just like you would want a bullet removed from your body.'”