DENVER – A federal judge has blocked Colorado from enforcing a set of new laws enshrining further access to abortion against an Englewood faith-based clinic pending a hearing scheduled for next Monday.
Bella Health and Wellness, a faith-based clinic that operates in Englewood, was granted a temporary restraining order hours after Gov. Jared Polis signed SB23-190 into law.
The laws signed by Polis ensure people in surrounding states and beyond can go to Colorado to have an abortion, begin puberty blockers or receive gender-affirming surgery without fear of prosecution. The measures also outlaw “deceptive practices” by anti-abortion centers, which are known to market themselves as abortion clinics but don’t actually offer the procedure.
The latter is what Bella Health and Wellness is contending in the temporary restraining order signed Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Daniel D. Domenico.
In court documents, the faith-based clinic claims the new law violates their First Amendment rights to free speech and exercise of religion, as well as patients’ free-speech, due-process, and equal-protection rights. They also claim the new bill is “void for vagueness.”
Bella Health and Wellness argues in the lawsuit that on the same day the governor signed the bill, a new patient began taking an abortion reversal medication by the name of progesterone, and wished to continue the treatment to move forward with her pregnancy.
SB23-190 says Colorado healthcare providers would be engaged in "unprofessional conduct" and be "subject to discipline" if they prescribe, administer, or attempt medication abortion reversal.
“The plaintiffs thus face discipline such as fines or potential loss of their medical licenses if they continue to provide such services, which to them is a religious obligation," the temporary restraining order states.
With the new laws, Colorado joins Illinois as a progressive peninsula offering reproductive rights to residents of conservative states on three sides. Illinois abortion clinics now serve people living in a 1,800-mile (2,900-kilometer) stretch of 11 Southern states that have largely banned abortion.
Gov. Polis added the first layer of abortion protection a year ago, signing an executive order that bars state agencies from cooperating with out-of-state investigations regarding reproductive healthcare. One of the bills he’s signing Friday codifies that order into law. Like the New Mexico law, it blocks court summons, subpoenas and search warrants from states that decide to prosecute someone for having an abortion.
It extends those protections to transgender patients dodging restrictions in their own states. Gender-affirming health care has been available for decades, some states have recently barred minors from accessing it, even with parental consent. Hospitals in some of those states say gender-affirming surgeries are rarely recommended for minors anyway. Puberty blockers are more common.
Conservative states are pushing back. Idaho passed a bill that outlaws providing a minor with abortion pills and helping them leave the state to terminate a pregnancy without their parents’ consent.
The Colorado law comes as medication abortions are in limbo across the U.S. and mail-order prescriptions of a crucial abortion drug are virtually banned pending the outcome of a federal court case.
Also on Friday, Polis signed a measure that outlaws “deceptive practices” by anti-abortion centers, which are known to market themselves as abortion clinics but don’t actually offer the procedure. Instead, they attempt to convince patients to not terminate their pregnancies. The bill also prohibits sites from offering to reverse a medical abortion.
A third bill signed Friday requires large employers to offer coverage for the total cost of an abortion, with an exception for those who object on religious grounds. It exempts public employees because Colorado’s constitution forbids the use of public funds for abortions
A preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for April 24 at 9:30 a.m.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
