The Colorado House refused Monday to override Gov. Bill Owens’ veto of an emergency-contraception bill, sending a clear signal the Republican minority is sticking together as lawmakers head into final debate on divisive and emotionally charged social issues.
The House originally passed the bill, which would have required health care providers to inform rape victims about the so-called morning-after pill, in January, with 11 Republicans joining the 35 Democrats.
But Monday, those same Republicans refused to cross their party’s top leader in a 35-30 vote that fell nine short of the number required to overturn the veto.
Minority Leader Joe Stengel, R-Littleton, was among those who switched his vote.
Democrats appealed to emotions in trying to win the veto override.
Choking back tears, House Majority Leader Alice Madden, D-Boulder, described how she was nearly raped when she was 14 years old.
“I really have a hard time with people saying this isn’t a problem,” Madden said. “Well, being raped is a problem. It’s our bodies, not yours. There is no God that would say that you can’t do everything you can to not have a baby of an attacker.”
Republicans accused Democrats of playing politics by bringing the veto override to a vote when they knew they were two votes short of winning in the Senate.
“That’s ‘gotcha’ politics at its worst,” said Rep. Mark Larson, R-Cortez, who switched his vote on the issue.
Democrats said they were simply making a last-ditch effort to protect victims of violent crime.
“If you would rather wait until January to revisit this discussion and allow more rapes to go, more women to be forced to make the choice whether to bear the rapist’s child or prevent those pregnancies, you’ll find no support from me,” said Speaker Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver.
Since completing negotiations on a budget-reform deal in March, Democrats have been moving highly charged social issues backed by labor unions and gay-rights groups.
Going into the final days of the session, the parties are still wrangling over legislation to prohibit employers from discriminating against gays.
Last week, Democratic senators added “sexual orientation” to the state’s hate-crimes law.
On Monday, state senators approved a bill that would keep tabs on employees who work for large companies but depend on publicly financed health care benefits.
By putting the veto of emergency contraception to a vote, Democrats were again highlighting their differences with Republicans – and more specifically, Owens – on hot-button social issues.
Last month, Owens said he vetoed the bill because it violated the religious freedom of Catholic hospitals.
Roman Catholic officials said using specific doses of birth control pills as emergency contraception can cause a fertilized egg – and therefore a human life – to be expelled from a woman’s body.
In an interview Monday morning, Owens cast the veto vote as a test of the process, not the policy, and he made it clear that he wanted the Republicans to stick with him.
“They vote their conscience on the first vote,” said Owens. “They vote the process on the second.”
Staff writer Mark P. Couch can be reached at 303-820-1794 or mcouch@denverpost.com.
