Denver colleges prepare for expanded abortion medication access
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College campuses across Colorado, including schools in Denver, must provide students access to abortion medication starting next summer.
Why it matters: The new law expands medication abortion access for college students as the drugs face ongoing legal challenges nationwide.
Driving the news: Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 1335 last week, requiring any college or university with a student health center to provide access to abortion medication.
- Schools with pharmacies must stock the medicine. Campuses without pharmacies can either write prescriptions for off-campus pharmacies or directly dispense the medication.
Zoom in: The University of Denver plans to offer abortion medication at its Health and Counseling Center, assistant vice chancellor of health and wellness Michael LaFarr tells us.
- DU is developing policies, including privacy safeguards for "responsible" service. Staff at the center have completed training for mifepristone use, LaFarr added.
The Health Center at the Auraria Campus doesn't offer abortion medication services, but "will comply" with the law's implementation timeline, Metropolitan State University spokesperson Tim Carroll said in a statement.
- The center serves students from the Community College of Denver, MSU Denver and the University of Colorado Denver.
Yes, but: The requirements outlined in the law do not apply to Regis University, a private Jesuit school in northwest Denver, interim chief of staff Sheryl Tirol said in a statement.
- The school does not operate an on-campus student health center or a site on campus providing prescription drugs, Tirol added.
Zoom out: Mifepristone, one of two drugs commonly used in medication abortions, was approved by the FDA in 2000. The American Medical Association calls it "exceedingly safe and effective."
- Medication abortions account for more than 60% of abortions nationwide.
The latest: A U.S. appeals court last month temporarily froze federal rules allowing the teleprescribing and mailing of abortion drugs.
- The U.S. Supreme Court has since restored access as the case plays out.
What they're saying: "Colorado remains a beacon for safe, legal and protected reproductive health care," state Rep. Lorena García (D-Adams County) said in a statement last week.
What's next: Campus health centers must comply by Aug. 1, 2027.