Several Colorado state lawmakers traveled to Washington D.C. this week to meet with White House officials ahead of the 2023 legislative session. 

State Sen. Julie Gonzales and state Rep. Meg Froelich visited the White House Wednesday to discuss their work protecting reproductive rights. Gonzales and Froelich are among around 50 Democratic state lawmakers who visited the White House, with representatives from 31 states attending meetings in the presidential residence on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Associated Press reported that the legislators are coming to talk strategy on the Democratic Party’s top issues. 

Colorado state Sen. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, visited the White House on Tuesday to meet with legislators and advocacy groups regarding gun violence prevention, public safety and criminal justice reform. Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, D-Aurora, visited the White House on Wednesday to discuss mental health strategy in Colorado.

More Colorado legislators also met in Washington D.C. this week to participate in the State Innovation Exchange National Conference, a progressive nonprofit that works with legislators, advocacy groups, think tanks and activists on policy development. Those legislators included Sen. Faith Winter, D-Westminster, Rep. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, D-Denver, Rep. Mandy Lindsay, D-Aurora, and Rep.-elect Javier Mabrey, D-Denver. 

The state lawmakers met with top policy experts from President Joe Biden’s administration to discuss abortion rights, drug control, veterans affairs, environmental quality, criminal justice, violence prevention, climate change, protecting LGBTQ rights, voting rights, civil rights and the preservation of democracy, AP reported. 

Gonzales, D-Denver, and Froelich, D-Greenwood Village, were two of the prime sponsors behind Colorado’s Reproductive Health Equity Act. Among the most permissive abortion laws in the country, it prohibits state and local public entities from restricting a person’s right to continue a pregnancy, have an abortion or use or refuse contraception, and declares that fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses do not have independent rights. 

In a tweet Wednesday morning, Gonzales said she and Froelich are meeting with White House officials to talk about their plans to “advance reproductive freedom in Colorado” during the next session. 

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade in June, Gonzales and Froelich filed a new bill title to protect abortion patients and providers, including those who travel to Colorado from out of state. 

This comes as state legislative sessions are approaching with the New Year, including Colorado’s 74th General Assembly set to convene on Jan. 9. 

Colorado state Sen. Julie Gonzales and state Rep. Meg Froelich visited the White House Wednesday to discuss their work protecting reproductive rights ahead of the 2023 legislative session. 

Gonzales, D-Denver, and Froelich, D-Greenwood Village, were two of the prime sponsors behind Colorado’s Reproductive Health Equity Act. Among the most permissive abortion laws in the country, it prohibits state and local public entities from restricting a person’s right to continue a pregnancy, have an abortion or use or refuse contraception, and declares that fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses do not have independent rights. 

In a tweet Wednesday morning, Gonzales said she and Froelich are meeting with White House officials to talk about their plans to “advance reproductive freedom in Colorado” during the next session. 

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade in June, Gonzales and Froelich filed a new bill title to protect abortion patients and providers, including those who travel to Colorado from out of state. 

Gonzales and Froelich are among around 50 Democratic state lawmakers who visited the White House this week, with representatives from 31 states attending meetings in the presidential residence on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Associated Press reported that the legislators are coming to talk strategy on the Democratic Party’s top issues. 

Colorado state Sen. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, visited the White House on Tuesday to meet with legislators and advocacy groups regarding gun violence prevention, public safety and criminal justice reform. 

The state lawmakers met with top policy experts from President Joe Biden’s administration to discuss abortion rights, drug control, veterans affairs, environmental quality, criminal justice, violence prevention, climate change, protecting LGBTQ rights, voting rights, civil rights and the preservation of democracy, AP reported. 

This comes as state legislative sessions are approaching with the New Year, including Colorado’s 74th General Assembly set to convene on Jan. 9.