Colorado improves in report that grades states on reproductive health care access
Abortion rights supporters protest outside the state Capitol in Denver on May 7, 2022. (Kevin Mohatt for Colorado Newsline)
A national reproductive rights 'report card' gave Colorado marks that are improved from last year after a constitutional amendment allows the state to provide Medicaid coverage for reproductive health care.
The annual report card from rePROS Fight Back — an initiative of the Population Institute, which advocates gender equality and universal access to sexual and reproductive health services — grades each state based on various factors that either improve or hinder access to reproductive health care. The initiative has published the report since 2012.
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Factors considered include prevention efforts, such as sex education and access to contraception; affordability, including Medicaid and health insurance coverage; and access, including restrictions on abortion and gender-affirming care. Colorado received a B+ grade, up from a C- last year.
Colorado voters in November approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to abortion in Colorado, which bumped up this year's grade, as the state is no longer prohibited from using state funding to support reproductive health care. The state earned additional points from last year because it now has Medicaid expansion options for family planning and reproductive health care services.
Colorado also earned high marks for its shield laws that protect abortion care providers and gender-affirming care for transgender youth. It is one of only 16 states to receive a B grade or higher, though it did not receive an A because it does not mandate sex education.
Jennie Wetter, director of rePROs Fight Back and author of the report, said Colorado deserves partial credit for requiring schools that do teach sex education to ensure it is medically accurate, LGBTQ+ inclusive and includes information on healthy relationships and consent.
'But since they don't mandate any form of sex education, they don't get points for the things they require, since some schools may then not teach sex education since it's not mandated,' Wetter said.
Five states received an A grade, and 25 states received an F grade. The U.S. as a whole earned a failing grade because of continued fallout from the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson decision that overturned the national right to abortion guaranteed by Roe v. Wade.
'The Trump Administration is pouring fuel on this raging fire by blocking health agencies from collecting and reporting critical data related to reproductive health,' Wetter said in a statement. 'The threats to the health and well-being of children and families are simply unprecedented.'
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