Issue Position: Gender Equity

Issue Position

*Require contractors doing business with the state to meet equal-pay standards, so that every individual earns what she or he deserves regardless of gender, race, or sexual orientation.
*Fully fund Colorado's long acting reversible contraception plan, a nationally recognized program that has dramatically reduced unplanned teen pregnancies.
*Continue to resist legislative attempts to roll back a woman's right to make personal reproductive health care decisions with her family and her doctor without government intrusion.
*Expand Family and Medical Leave Act protections so more Coloradans have access to paid sick and parental leave.

We can do a much better job providing women's health care. Contraception should be fully covered. Planned Parenthood employees shouldn't have to risk their lives simply by showing up to work. And elected officials shouldn't contribute to the vitriol.

In Colorado we had a program that's nationally recognized for dramatically reducing unplanned teen pregnancies--with a corresponding 35% drop in abortions. The program worked by providing the option of long acting reversible contraception (like IUDs and implants) to low-income women in family planning clinics across Colorado. Sadly, last year some legislators who claim to oppose abortion blocked funding for the program. It's been continued through private funding for one additional year, but the program's future remains in jeopardy. Refusing to support a program that expands birth control choices and prevents unplanned pregnancies and abortions is hypocritical, and it's wrong for Colorado.
We must work tirelessly to help women access the resources they need to reduce unplanned pregnancies, while also protecting their rights to make personal reproductive health care decisions without government intrusion.

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