H_HIE_2017A 02/09/2017 Committee Summary

01:36 PM -- HB 17-1086



Representatives Everett and Nordberg presented House Bill 17-1086 to the committee. Except in cases of medical emergencies, this bill requires physicians to inform patients orally and in person, at least 24 hours before prescribing or giving abortion-inducing drugs to a woman or beginning the abortion, that:



• it may be possible to reverse the abortion should she change her mind, but that time is of the essence; and

• information on and assistance with reversing the effects of abortion-inducing drugs is available in the state-prepared materials.



State-prepared information. After telling the patient this information, the physician is required to provide a written copy of the text listed in the bill outlining information about abortion reversal, including a website and telephone number at which additional information can be obtained. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is required to post this information on its website and annually update the website and telephone number included in the required information, if needed.



Civil penalties. The bill states that failure to comply with the information requirements in the bill provides the basis for a civil action for damages; fines and penalties imposed by the Attorney General; and professional disciplinary action under Colorado's medical malpractice law. The bill specifies that penalties are not to be assessed against a women seeking abortion services and that the privacy of women shall be preserved during a civil action under the bill.













The committee discussed the bill and asked questions of the sponsors.



01:47 PM -- Wendy Smith, representing herself, testified in support of the bill and presented two handouts (Attachments A and B).



170209 AttachA.pdf170209 AttachB.pdf



02:12 PM -- Karen Middleton, representing NARAL Colorado, testified against the bill.



02:35 PM -- Dr. George Delgado, representing the Charlotte Lozier Institute, testified in support of the bill and presented a handout (Attachment C).



170209 AttachC.pdf



02:57 PM -- Dr. Joyce Gottesfeld, representing NARAL Colorado, testified against the bill.



03:12 PM -- Dr. David Martinez, representing Alternatives Pregnancy Center, testified in support of the bill.



03:31 PM -- Dr. Tista Ghosh, representing the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, testified against the bill.



03:36 PM -- Jenny Langness, representing Marisol Health, DeDe Chism, representing Bella Natural Women's Care, and Amy Mendoza, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



03:49 PM -- Dr. Gina Moore representing Colorado Pharmacists Society, testified against the bill.



03:57 PM -- Megan Malinaric read the testimony of Dr. John Stallworth in support of the bill and presented a written copy of the testimony (Attachment D).



170209 AttachD.pdf



04:00 PM -- Jackie Billotte, representing herself, testified against the bill.



04:15 PM -- Shanelle Felder, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



04:24 PM -- Dr. Kelly Sennholz, representing herself, testified against the bill.



04:27 PM -- Marcy McGovern, representing Alternatives Pregnancy Center, testified in support of the bill.



04:31 PM -- Dr. Rebecca Cohen, representing herself, testified against the bill.













04:37 PM -- Debra Burton, representing herself, testified in support of the bill. She read the statement of another person.



04:40 PM -- Dominc DePizzol, representing Students for Life, testified in support of the bill.



04:43 PM -- Leslie Chomic, representing the League of Women Voters of Colorado, testified against the bill.



04:49 PM -- Geridette Schiavone, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



04:52 PM -- Tania Van Pelt, representing herself, testified against the bill.



04:55 PM -- Jenna Ellis, representing the Centennial Institute, testified in support of the bill.



05:18 PM -- Amy Rosette, representing Abortion Story Project, testified against the bill.



05:21 PM -- Rick Theilen, representing Life Choices, testified in support of the bill.



05:28 PM -- Former Representative JoAnn Windholz, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



05:31 PM -- Pastor John Smith, representing Majestic View Church, testified in support of the bill.



05:34 PM -- Summer Burton, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



05:37 PM -- Eleanor Cabell, representing herself, testified against the bill.



05:41 PM -- Joyce Zounis Brown, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



05:45 PM -- Patty Haas, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



05:49 PM -- Yvonne Williams, representing Care Net, testified in support of the bill.



05:51 PM -- Mike Norton, representing himself, testified in support of the bill and presented a handout (Attachment E).



170209 AttachE.pdf



05:56 PM -- Brad Bergford, representing himself, testified in support of the bill and presented a handout (Attachment F).



170209 AttachF.pdf



06:03 PM -- Matt Niedzielski, representing Pikes Peak Citizens For Life, testified in support of the bill.











06:06 PM -- Scott Horak, representing himself, testified in support of the bill.



06:10 PM -- Dr. Thomas Perille, representing the Protect Life Coalition, testified in support of the bill and presented a handout (Attachment G).



170209 AttachG.pdf



06:14 PM -- Danna Liebert, representing herself, testified against the bill.



06:23 PM



Representative Nordberg distributed amendment L.003 (Attachment H) to the committee. The committee members discussed the amendment.



170209 AttachH.pdf



06:30 PM



Michael Dohr, representing the Office of Legislative Legal Services, answered committee questions regarding the amendment.

07:03 PM -- HB 17-1085



Representative Neville presented House Bill 17-1085 to the committee. The bill requires all abortion clinics in the state to register with the Attorney General within 30 days of the effective date of this bill. Abortion clinics are defined as any non-hospital facility that performs three or more abortions in the first trimester of pregnancy in any month or any abortions in the second or third trimesters. Registrations are valid for one year and must be renewed annually. The bill also requires the Attorney General to conduct an initial on-site visit to each facility filing a registration, and then conduct at least one inspection annually thereafter.



The bill requires abortion clinics to provide certain information about the number of abortions performed, the methods used, the number of infants born alive at the clinic, and transportation of women and born-alive infants to hospitals. The bill requires the Attorney General to establish policies and procedures for annual inspections, which must include a determination of whether an abortion clinic is conducting abortions after 20 weeks gestation; a review of medical equipment, hazardous waste disposal, and sanitation procedures; and a check on compliance with medical privacy laws. The Attorney General is also required to develop a procedure for receiving and investigating complaints received from the public. All registration records are public records and available for inspection under the Colorado Open Records Act.



The Attorney General is authorized to levy civil penalties on clinics that do not operate in a medically safe manner, fail to have appropriate equipment, fail to transport born-alive infants to the hospital, or violate any other provision of law. The Attorney General may also order that a clinic be closed if violations are found. Civil penalties may be imposed up to $5,000, and the bill specifies the factors that must be considered by the Attorney General when determining whether to fine or close an abortion clinic. The Attorney General and local district attorneys may institute a legal action to enforce the collection of civil penalties, and women or infants injured by the actions of an abortion clinic may file a civil suit to recover damages.







07:14 PM -- Sheryll Bolton, representing Life Choices, testified in support of the bill and presented a handout (Attachment I).



170209 AttachI.pdf



07:19 PM -- Denise Maes, representing the Americans for Civil Liberties Union, testified against the bill.



07:34 PM -- Wendy Smith, representing herself, testified in support of the bill and presented a handout (Attachment J).



170209 AttachJ.pdf



07:50 PM -- Dr. Emily Schneider, representing herself, testified against the bill.



08:07 PM -- Kristi Brown, representing the Charlotte Lozier Institute, testified in support of the bill.



08:17 PM -- Anna Crawford, representing herself, testified against the bill.



08:22 PM -- Gigi Owen, representing Life Choices, testified in support of the bill.



08:25 PM -- Debra Burton, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



08:30 PM -- Katie Mills read the testimony of Peg Perl against the bill.



08:33 PM -- Joyce Zounis Brown read the testimony of Eileen Martin Marie Smith in support of the bill.



08:35 PM -- Karla Gonzales Garcia, representing Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights, testified against the bill.



08:48 PM -- Yvonne Williams, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



08:50 PM -- Karen Middleton, representing NARAL Colorado, testified against the bill.



08:54 PM -- Sadie Squier, representing herself, testified against the bill.



08:57 PM -- Amy Rosette, representing Abortion Story Project, testified against the bill.



08:59 PM -- Matt Niedzielski, representing Pikes Peak Citizens for Life, testified in support of the bill.



09:02 PM -- Eleanor Cabell, representing herself, testified against the bill.



09:05 PM -- Nancy Duplan, representing herself, testified against the bill.







09:10 PM -- Dr. Thomas Perille, representing the Protect Life Coalition, testified in support of the bill and presented a handout (Attachment K).



170209 AttachK.pdf



09:18 PM -- Scott Horak, representing himself, testified in support of the bill.



09:22 PM -- Dr. Aaron Lazorwitz, representing himself, testified against the bill.



09:24 PM -- Former Representative JoAnn Windholz, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



09:28 PM -- Denise Archuleta, representing Democrats for Life, testified in support of the bill.

09:43 PM -- HB 17-1108



Representatives Ransom and Humphrey presented House Bill 17-1108 to the committee. This bill prohibits licensed physicians from performing abortions except:



• when making reasonable medical efforts to preserve both the life of the woman and her unborn child, and an abortion is necessary to preserve the life of the woman; or

• when the physician provides medical treatment to a woman that results in the accidental injury or death of the unborn child. Offenses under the bill are punishable as a class 1 felony, and a conviction constitutes unprofessional conduct for the purposes of physician licensing.



10:13 PM -- Rick Thielen, representing Life Choices, testified in support of the bill and presented a handout (Attachment L).



170209 AttachL.pdf



10:18 PM -- Dr. Aaron Lazorwitz, representing himself, testified against the bill.



10:27 PM -- Wendy Smith, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



10:33 PM -- Dr. Emily Schneider, representing herself, testified against the bill.



10:39 PM -- Kristi Brown, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.







11:00 PM -- Jill Wildenberg, representing the Interfaith Alliance of Colorado, testified against the bill.



11:03 PM -- Lisa Koets, representing Life Choices, and Dawn Phillips, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



11:10 PM -- Joyce Lisbin, representing Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice Colorado, testified against the bill.



11:15 PM -- Megan Malinaric, representing herself, testified in support of the bill and presented a handout (Attachment M).



170209 AttachM.pdf



11:18 PM -- Denise Maes, representing the Americans for Civil Liberties Union, testified against the bill.



11:22 PM -- Lisa Dudley, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



11:26 PM -- Eleanor Cabell, representing herself, testified against the bill.



11:28 PM -- Christy Rodriquez, representing Colorado Campaign for Life, testified in support of the bill and read the testimony of Jack Minor.



11:33 PM -- Dorota Wright O'Neill, representing herself, testified against the bill.



11:36 PM -- Matt Neidzielski, representing Pikes Peak Citizens for Life, testified in support of the bill.



11:39 PM -- Scott Horak, representing himself, testified in support of the bill.



11:42 PM -- Nathan Wenneker, representing himself, testified in support of the bill.



11:47 PM -- Amy Rosette, representing herself, testified against the bill.



11:51 PM -- Former Representative JoAnn Windholz, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.



11:55 PM -- Thomas Perille, representing the Protect Life Coalition, testified in support of the bill and presented a handout (Attachment N).



170209 AttachN.pdf







12:02 AM -- Denise Archuleta, representing Democrats for Life, testified in support of the bill.



12:08 AM -- Lesley Fried, representing herself, testified against the bill.



12:09 AM -- David Meek, representing himself, testified in support of the bill.

12:34 AM



The committee adjourned.