Colorado continues to be a beacon of hope in an otherwise dark time for the LGBTQ+ community in the US after passing a new set of bills into law that will protect trans and abortion rights.
The Western state’s legislature passed a set of house and senate bills further protecting access to abortions, as well as trans rights, over several sessions held this week.
The state’s house voted to approve two bills on Sunday (6 April) which strengthen protections for trans people in the state. One bill codified gender-affirming care into state law, while the other seeks to strengthen protections for trans people in the education sector.
Another session held on Tuesday (8 April), this time in the senate, also approved a bill enshrining the constitutional right to abortion for all Coloradans, while a further senate bill broadens a shield law protecting healthcare providers who prescribe abortion or miscarriage management medications.
The set of successful votes come as a huge win both in the state and in the US more broadly, where harmful bills targeting bodily autonomy and LGBTQ+ rights have become increasingly prevalent.
LGBTQ+ legislative researcher, Allison Chapman, told Truthout that Colorado’s continued contribution to protecting marginalised groups is “critical” towards fighting for rights in the US more broadly, especially when it comes to the trans and non-binary community.
“With the vilification of transgender people by mainstream media and the federal government, state laws protecting gender affirming healthcare offered transgender Americans a chance at survival and life,” she said.
The state’s governor, Jared Polis, who became the first out gay man to be elected as a US state governor in 2018, is expected to sign these bills into law once final votes have been approved.
Colorado house bills codify trans rights protections
Among the set of laws passed in the state is Colorado House Bill 1309, or the “Protect Access to Gender-Affirming Health Care” bill.
The law – co-sponsored by Democratic house reps. Kyule Brown and Brianna Titone and senators Lisa Cutter and Julie Gonzales – aims to codify gender-affirming care access in Colorado, and make it harder to rescind. It also prevents insurers from denying or heavily limiting “medically necessary” gender-affirming treatments.
It passed in an almost entirely partisan 39-21 vote on Sunday, with every single Republican voting against the bill. Just one Democrat, Rep. Amy Paschal, voted against it. There were no abstains and just five absent lawmakers during the vote.
Co-sponsor Titone said that the bill was formulated in response to the “long shadow” of orders against gender-affirming care at a federal level, noting that trans healthcare could soon be “at risk.”
“Passing this bill is about telling Coloradans that, no, we are not going to let that happen,” she said. “It’s about taking control of what we can do to ensure that our friends and neighbours and family members continue to get the care they need.”
The other bill, House Bill 1312, known as the “Kelly Loving Act,” extends protections for trans under-18s by forbidding Colorado courts from removing children from their legal parents or guardians if they allow the child to access gender-affirming health care. It is named after Kelly Loving, a trans woman murdered during the Club Q massacre in 2022.
Co-authored by House representatives Lorena Garcia and Rebekah Stewart, as well as senators Faith Winter and Chris Kolker, the bill also forbids education providers from enforcing policies that may force a trans child to detransition or out them to their parents or guardians. It also orders courts to consider misgendering, deadnaming, or threats on the basis of someone’s gender identity as types of “coercive control.”
It similarly passed during the same legislative session on Sunday, with 38 yeas to 20 nays, with every single attending Republican once again voting no against the bill. Amy Paschal was, again, the only Democrat to vote no on the bill.
Colorado Senate helps make abortion access easier
The senate, meanwhile, made efforts to help further extend protections to abortion access, which have been under fire in the US since the rescintion of Roe V Wade by the Supreme Court.
Two bills, Senate Bill 183 and 129, respectively, aim to further protect and extend access to abortion medication and procedures. SB 183 updates existing laws to enshrine a Constitutional right to abortion, while SB 129 extends a shield law protecting providers of abortion care.
SB 183 unsurprisingly passed through a House session on Tuesday (8 April) in a 38-21 vote, while SB 129 crossed the line in a completely partisan 23-11 House vote. Just one Democrat voted against SB 183 – Amy Paschal.
Senator Lisa Cutter, one of SB 129’s co-sponsors, said that lawmakers in Colorado have worked to “protect the freedom” of citizens to decide what to do with “our future and our bodies.”
“As attacks on reproductive rights continue across the country, we are working to implement strong and responsive laws in Colorado to shield health care patients and providers from hostile out-of-state action.”
As well as implementing protections in Colorado, the bills also impose restrictions on using out-of-state legislation to block or otherwise restrict access to abortion care.
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