Partisan Divide Evident Over Colorado Birth Control Program
DENVER (AP) — Colorado Democrats and Republicans are headed toward a clash over state funding for teenage access to long-acting reversible contraception such as intrauterine devices.
Gov. John Hickenlooper and state health officials credit birth control methods like IUDs for reducing the state's teen pregnancy rate during the past five years. But that access has so far been supported by a $25 million private donation. Government officials say state funding is required to continue it.
Legislation expected to be introduced Friday to allocate $5 million to continue a program that pays for birth control for low-income teens.
But not all Republicans are keen on the idea of using state dollars to fund the use of IUDs. Some conservatives equate IUDs to having an abortion.
By Ivan Moreno, AP Writer
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