GOVERNOR POLIS SIGNS BILL INTO LAW GUARANTEEING EMERGENCY ROOM CARE FOR COLORADANS, INCLUDING ABORTION CARE
Denver – Today, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed SB25-130, Providing Emergency Medical Services into state law. SB 25-130 was sponsored by Senadora Julie Gonzales and Senator Mike Weissman in the Senate and Representatives Meg Froelich and Yara Zokaie in the House.
SB 130 will guarantee emergency room care in Colorado, including abortion and miscarriage care, regardless of current uncertainty at the federal level. The legislation also includes enforcement mechanisms that ensure Colorado isn’t beholden to the Trump Administration when enforcing laws related to emergency medical service, including abortion care. Colorado is the first state in the nation to have independent enforcement of this federal law.
“We want to thank Governor Polis for being such a strong advocate for health care access for all Coloradans and signing SB 130,” said Cobalt President Karen Middleton. “Colorado voters gave us a mandate in November on reproductive health care, and SB 130 reflects that mandate. We should be proud of Colorado’s leadership on ensuring everyone can get the health care they need and deserve in the emergency room.”
“As someone who lives in rural Colorado, it matters that we are able to get the same standard of emergency care as everyone else,” said Cobalt Political Director Kiera Hatton Sena. “With the chaos in the courts, the federal government abandoning its commitment to enforce federal law, and nothing protecting pregnant people in the ER in Colorado law, Colorado had to take action to ensure patients here are protected, no matter where they live.”
SB 25-130, requiring Colorado hospitals to provide emergency room abortion care to protect a patient’s life or health, is necessary because there is nothing on the books in Colorado state law, and the federal law is currently tied up in the courts, with the outcome uncertain. The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) is a federal law that requires hospitals to provide emergency care to anyone who needs it, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay. This may include abortion care when medically indicated.
States with abortion bans – most notably Idaho and Texas – have challenged the law and argued in court that their state abortion bans override EMTALA. The Supreme Court effectively left EMTALA in legal limbo in Moyle vs United States, and the Trump Administration has announced it is no longer pursuing the case against Idaho for refusing to provide abortion care in the emergency room.
SB 130 is the third of three bills backed by Cobalt that Governor Polis has signed into law. SB 25-129, strengthening the state’s shield law for reproductive health care providers and patients, and SB 25-183, implementing Amendment 79 which put abortion rights in the state Constitution and removed a ban on public insurance coverage for abortion care, were signed on April 24. .
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Cobalt is a grassroots, statewide Colorado organization that advances abortion access and reproductive rights. Our organization began in 1967 when Colorado became the first state to allow safe, legal abortion. Cobalt believes nothing should stand between you and your health decisions, which is why we are dedicated to fighting for systems, structures and policies that protect reproductive rights and guarantee comprehensive, universal access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion.