Colorado governor signs package of healthcare measure to guarantee access for abortion, transgender care

Denver: In an effort to provide shelter for its neighbours, whose Republican authorities are limiting care, Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed a package of health care measures on Friday that guarantee access to abortion and gender-affirming treatments and drugs. The measure aims to guarantee that persons from neighbouring states and abroad can go to Colorado without worry in order to have an abortion, start puberty blockers, or have gender-affirming surgery. Abortion prohibitions have been established in the neighbouring states of Wyoming and Oklahoma, while Utah has severely limited the treatment that transgender children may get. Travelling to other states with the intention of receiving legal medical care is illegal in many places that have restrictions on abortion or transgender healthcare. The contradicting laws are setting the stage for interstate disputes comparable to the patchwork of same-sex marriage laws that existed until 2015, or the 19th-century legal conflict over whether fugitive enslaved people in free states remained the property of slaveholders when they escaped. The governor’s office was packed with lawmakers and advocates for a ceremony that resembled a rally at times with loud applause and call-and-response chants. “We see you and in Colorado, we’ve got your back,” Democratic Sen. Julie Gonzalez during the ceremony. With the new laws, Colorado joins Illinois as a progressive peninsula offering reproductive rights to residents of conservative states on three sides. Illinois abortion clinics now serve people living in a 1,800-mile (2,900-kilometer) stretch of 11 Southern states that have largely banned abortion. Florida, temporarily a haven for abortion seekers in those states, outlawed abortions after 6 weeks. The bill, signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday in a closed-door ceremony doesn’t go into effect right away. California and New York are considering similar bills after the US Supreme Court knocked down Roe. v. Wade, putting abortion laws in the hands of state legislatures. Colorado’s southern neighbour, New Mexico, is also controlled by Democrats and signed a similar abortion protection bill earlier this year. It legally shields those who seek abortions or gender-affirming care, and those who provide the treatments, from interstate investigations. Gov. Polis added the first layer of abortion protection a year ago, signing an executive order that bars state agencies from cooperating with out-of-state investigations regarding reproductive healthcare. One of the bills he’s signing Friday codifies that order into law. Like the New Mexico law, it blocks court summons, subpoenas and search warrants from states that decide to prosecute someone for having an abortion. Colorado’s abortion law extends the protections to transgender patients dodging restrictions in their own states. Gender-affirming health care has been available for decades, but some states have recently barred minors from accessing it, even with parental consent. Hospitals in some of those states say gender-affirming surgeries are rarely recommended for minors anyway. Puberty blockers are more common. Conservative states are pushing back. Idaho passed a bill that outlaws providing a minor with abortion pills and helping them leave the state to terminate a pregnancy without their parent’s consent. The Colorado law comes as medication abortions are in limbo across the US and mail-order prescriptions of a crucial abortion drug are virtually banned pending the outcome of a federal court case. Also on Friday, Polis signed a measure that outlaws “deceptive practices” by anti-abortion centres, which are known to market themselves as abortion clinics but don’t actually offer the procedure. Instead, they attempt to convince patients to not terminate their pregnancies. The bill also prohibits sites from offering to reverse a medical abortion. A third bill signed Friday requires large employers to offer coverage for the total cost of an abortion, with an exception for those who object on religious grounds. It exempts public employees because Colorado’s constitution forbids the use of public funds for abortions. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.