A package of bills intended to bolster Colorado’s abortion-rights laws are expected within the next two weeks, including a proposal that targets “crisis pregnancy centers.” 

Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, who spoke about the package on Tuesday, said the first measure deals with what she calls deceptive trade practices by anti-abortion clinics that  she described as “fake.”

In particular, Gonzales is targeting crisis pregnancy centers, which counsel pregnant women against having an abortion and to instead choose to carry the pregnancy to term, with parenting or adoption as an alternative.

The American Medical Society Journal of Ethics said their trade practices have little to no oversight and accused the centers of giving the “impression that they are clinical centers, offering legitimate medical services and advice, yet they are exempt from regulatory, licensure, and credentialing oversight that apply to health care facilities.”

The journal also claimed that many are affiliated with religious ideology, which “takes priority over the health and well-being of the women seeking care at these centers,” and that, as a result, women do not receive “comprehensive, accurate, evidence-based clinical information about all available options.”

These centers are legal, but not ethical, the journal said, adding “their propagation of misinformation should be regarded as an ethical violation that undermines women’s health.” A 2012 study in North Carolina, published by the National Library of Medicine, claimed that 86% of the centers provide misinformation on abortion.

Supporters of crisis pregnancy centers argue that to call them “fake” clinics is a smear campaign perpetuated by abortion providers, and the centers legitimately provide services, including health education, ultrasound and counseling.

“To accuse pregnancy centers of not offering legitimate care to women is false and self-serving, and worst of all, it misinforms women,” Carolyn Reeves of the Alliance Defending Freedom, which litigates religious questions before the U.S. Supreme Court wrote last year. “It intentionally tells women that only one choice – abortion – is viable. Women deserve more than that.”

Heartbeat International, a network of pregnancy centers, cited a study saying the country’s nearly 3,000 centers nationwide served almost two million people in 2019, offering hundreds of pregnancy tests, free ultrasound, and STD tests, as well as parenting and prenatal education programs and after-abortion support.

Nationwide, there are about 2,600 of these centers, with 51 in Colorado. Eighteen states, according to CNN, provide the centers with taxpayer dollars.

The second bill, Gonzales said, would protect both patients and those who provide abortion and “gender-affirming” care. 

While details of this bill are not yet known, several states have enacted legislation to protect abortion providers. Last June, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a package of six bills, including a measure to keep confidential addresses of abortion providers and patients, another that would establish a cause of action for unlawful interference, legal protections for abortion service providers, and preventing medical malpractice insurance carriers from taking action against an abortion provider who provides legal care.

The third bill in the Senate package would require health insurance carriers to provide abortion care. 

If enacted, Colorado would follow the lead of eight other states that now mandate abortion coverage by private insurers, at least one coming in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision last June. Another eight states limit coverage to abortions that would save the life of the mother.

In California, for example, abortion is considered basic health care and insurers are required to cover the cost for most abortions. However, self-funded plans or “grandfathered” plans are exempt. A law that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2023 eliminates a prior authorization requirement. 

The legal effort to require insurers to provide abortion care could put Gov. Jared Polis in a bit of a legal conundrum.

A staunch defender of abortion rights, Polis’ key agenda is to help Coloradans save money on health care, and he has twice warned lawmakers not to send him any more insurance mandates for fear of driving up health insurance premiums. At the same time, he has signed into law new mandates on areas such as an annual mental health exam and covering the cost of infertility treatments. 

In 2022, Polis also signed a law that requires an actuarial analysis of of proposed legislation on health insurance mandates, although that law is limited to six reviews per session and required to be submitted to the Division of Insurance by Sept. 1 of the year preceding the legislation.