Committee advances bill to strengthen shield for reproductive and gender‑affirming care after hours of testimony

Senate Bill 25‑129, a measure sponsors said strengthens Colorado’s legal shield for reproductive and gender‑affirming health care, passed out of the Colorado House Judiciary Committee on a 7‑4 vote and was sent to the Committee of the Whole.

The bill’s prime sponsor, Representative Joseph, told the committee the measure updates Colorado law to respond to “a chilling pattern of criminalization, intimidation, and interference” from other states and to keep patients and providers safe. Representative McCormick, a co‑prime sponsor, said the bill clarifies prescription labeling (allowing a practice name to appear on medication labels), requires certain out‑of‑state subpoenas to include sworn statements that they are not intended to criminalize legally protected care, and gives the state attorney general enforcement tools.

Supporters said Colorado already receives patients and providers from states that have restricted care. Dr. Jackson Gonzalez, political director at 1Colorado, told the committee families now travel long distances for care and that relocation assistance requests “jumped from 20 to nearly 600 in a month.” Lauren Smith of Soul to Soul Sisters and Vanessa Martinez of CALOR said the…