Feminist Daily News Wire
February-21-06

Access to Emergency Contraception Moves Ahead in Two States

Emergency contraception may soon be available without a prescription in pharmacies in Colorado and New York. A committee in the Colorado House has voted in favor of a bill giving pharmacists the authority to dispense emergency contraception, and New York Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer (D) announced his support for pharmacy access in New York.

Following approval by the Health and Human Services Committee, Colorado's House will now consider a bill allowing pharmacists to dispense EC. The measure is sponsored by Representative Betty Boyd (D), who told the Denver Post that it was "entirely about preventing pregnancy" and pointed to a decline in abortions in Washington since it passed a similar measure.

In New York, the legislature had passed a pharmacy-access bill, which was then vetoed by Governor George Pataki (R). Spitzer announced yesterday that "Better access could cut abortions in half," and "if elected governor, I would sign it into law," reports the Associated Press.

Media Resources: Associated Press 2/21/06; Denver Post 2/21/06; Rocky Mountain News 2/20/06

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