Colorado Planned Parenthood to Give Away Free Morning After Pills 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
June 28, 2006
Denver, CO (LifeNews.com) — Colorado Planned Parenthood plans to give away free morning after pills this Friday to mark its opposition to a measure Gov. Bill Owens vetoed that would have allowed women to get the Plan B drug without a prescription. Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains will give away the drug free at its 25 locations across the state.
"The governor turned his back on the women of Colorado, but Planned Parenthood won’t," PPRM spokesman Daniel Kessler said in a statement.
"If Owens really wants to reduce the number of abortions, he should support access to emergency contraception," Kessler added.
However, pro-life advocates oppose the morning after pill because it can cause an abortion in some circumstances. It also can lead to risky sexual relations and does not prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
Owens said part of his concern is that teenagers would make the drug their main method of birth control.
“This is a deeper issue than just how flippantly they’re trying to handle it,” Concerned Women for America’s Wendy Wright told AP about the giveaway. “Parents should know that their minor daughters may be handed a prescription of what can be a very dangerous drug.”
Pro-abortion groups had considered taking the measure to voters, but Steve Welchert, a Democratic campaign consultant, said in May that won’t happen. They withdrew the initiative proposal.
"Given limited resources, it’s more important to work to elect Bill Ritter as governor so that next year the bill becomes law," he said.
Ritter, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, claims to oppose abortion but backs the morning after pill. He will face pro-life Rep. Bob Beauprez in November.
Owens previously vetoed a bill that would have required hospitals to tell rape victims about availability of the Plan B drug. Planned Parenthood gave away free morning after pills then too and distributed 1,186 Plan B pills free at their facilities. They hope to give away 1,500 this time.
Eight states, including Alaska, California, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Washington, allow pharmacists to dispense the morning after pill without receiving a prescription.
