Colorado Lawmakers Introduce Reproductive Health Equity Act

After initially sharing the legislation last year with the public, Colorado leaders introduced HB22-1279, or the Reproductive Health Equity Act (RHEA), last week. The legislation ensures every individual has the right to choose or refuse contraception; every pregnant person has the fundamental right to choose to continue a pregnancy and give birth or have an abortion; and that a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent rights under Colorado law.

House Majority Leader Daneya Esgar (D-Pueblo), Rep Meg Froelich (D-Littleton), and Senator Julie Gonzales (D-Denver) are sponsoring the bill, which is also supported by Colorado groups Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR) and Cobalt.

“The time to act is now, and waiting is not an option,” COLOR President Dusti Gurule says. “Barriers to abortion access always fall heaviest on those with the least access to healthcare already—communities of color, low-income people, young people, people with disabilities, the LGBTQ community, rural Coloradans. RHEA would address that equity gap.”

Cobalt President Karen Middleton also adds that this may be the last year we have the protections of Roe v. Wade and that Coloradans cannot count of federal courts to protect the Constitutional right to abortion and reproductive healthcare in Colorado.

“And Roe has always been a floor, not a ceiling,” Middleton says. “We must ensure that abortion is not only legal but also accessible for anyone who wants it, without stigma, cost barriers, or political interference.”

Late last month, two more abortion bans, and a repeat of last year’s bill that would have coerced doctors into reporting more information about patients who end their pregnancies to the state, failed in the Colorado House of Representatives Health and Insurance Committee. Abortion rights supporters, including patients, providers, and advocates, testified in opposition to the bills.

A joint release from COLOR and Cobalt notes state activists have successfully defeated more than 44 attempts to ban or restrict abortion at the General Assembly since 2010 and four attempts at the ballot box since 2008 and that there is “nothing explicitly protective of abortion access in Colorado law.” Should the Supreme Court overturn Roe this spring with their ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case challenging Mississippi’s unconstitutional abortion ban, RHEA would ensure Coloradans can enjoy the same protections.

“Over 50 organizations across the state and the country believe in the work of RHEA, and we know our community does too. We look forward to ensuring that Colorado continues to be a safe-haven for abortion are for all of those who need it,” Gurule adds.