Colorado bill aimed at ‘Deceptive Trade Practices for Pregnancy-related Service’ waits for governor’s approval

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Lawmakers passed a controversial bill that now waits for Governor Jared Polis’ signature.

The bill addresses what sponsors say are deceptive practices at pregnancy clinics and the abortion reversal pill.

Senate Bill 190 aims to make deceptive practices at pregnancy clinics illegal, along with abortion reversal pills, known as APR.

With a vote of 43 to 19 in the House on Saturday, this bill now waits for the governor’s approval before becoming law.

The CEO at Save The Storks, Diane Ferraro, says she opposed the bill.

“Do they want this for their future generations?” Diane Ferraro, CEO at Save The Storks, said. “I would have to think their answer would be no. They want better for their women. That they want truth and advertising, which to me is leading pregnancy centers to mention that they do abortion consulting, that they do abortion counseling.”

One of the sponsors of Senate Bill 190, Senator Janice Marchman says it’s not all pregnancy centers.

“Most of the pregnancy centers are good actors and are not going to be impacted by this bill, SB23-190,” Janice Marchman, State Senator D15, said. “Some, however, engage in some deceptive trade practices that are basically going to result in the need to change their advertising.”

This bill is divided into two parts.

One part addresses false advertising from pregnancy clinics that claim they provide abortion services and referrals when in reality, they do not. Part two is based on information from The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) that claims the abortion reversal pill does not meet clinical standards and is not based on science.

“If they’re taking their first pill and they decide ‘you know what? I’m not going to do this;’ oftentimes, they will get a referral to some good prenatal care,” Senator Marchman said. “You know they will be counseled on what they can do to try to have a safe pregnancy after taking the first pill, but after the first pill, there’s really no guarantee that it would work.”

“APR is not liked by the American medical association, Planned Parenthood, and many of the authorities in women’s healthcare,” Ferraro said. “Because it goes against what they have been saying that abortion is safe and good for women’s healthcare. To me, APR is really exposing the lie that has been stated that abortion is OK and that abortion is good for women.”

The main discussion in this bill is APR.

When deciding on an abortion, there is the option of a two-step pill procedure.

The first step would be to take the first pill in the two-pill process.

After taking that, if a patient changes their mind, the argument is that they take the abortion reversal pill and skip taking the second abortion pill.

The argument is whether or not the reversal pill is safe and effective.

“The problem is that there is no data that shows that this is a safe way ever worse reversing an abortion, and so it’s an experimental process that we are doing on pregnant people,” Senator Marchman said. “It’s happening across America, where this abortion pill reversal is going on. So we would be a leader in that space and saying let’s prove it’s right and then let’s go for it if it’s good and if it’s proven by the medical board, nurses, and the pharmaceutical board.”

“I am not a medical doctor; however, I know that the APR does provide an opportunity for that mom to save her baby’s life and if she does take the abortion pill,” Ferraro said. “What SB23-190 is doing is preventing a woman from having that real choice and having that chance to save her baby’s life even if she has taken that abortion pill. Doesn’t a woman deserve a chance to save that baby?”

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