Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Pro-Life or Anti-Victim?
Governor of Colorado comes out against rape victims:
The Bill passed 46-19 in the House and 22-13 in the Senate, with some Republicans crossing party lines to support it.
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Gov. Bill Owens vetoed a bill that would have required hospitals to tell rape victims about emergency contraception, saying it would have forced church-backed institutions to violate their own ethics guidelines.
Owens, a Roman Catholic Republican who has campaigned on conservative values, said the measure was well-intentioned but probably unconstitutional and did not provide victims with balanced information needed to make a deeply personal decision.
"Without informed consent, a woman could innocently violate her personal, moral and religious beliefs about when life begins," Owens said Tuesday.
State Rep. Fran Coleman said she was disappointed.
"This was about emergency contraception. Rape victims didn't ask for that procreation," said Coleman.
The Bill passed 46-19 in the House and 22-13 in the Senate, with some Republicans crossing party lines to support it.
