It would mean a doctor would have to wait until a teen faced a medical emergency. In that case the doctor, instead of going to a hospital, would have to go to court.

Colorado had an opportunity to step up where the federal government has failed women. Emergency contraception is a safe and effective form of birth control that all women should have access to, yet foes of reproductive rights continue to put up roadblocks at every juncture.

History has shown us that when women are denied access to abortion they may resort to desperate measures. The women of Mississippi would be better served if the legislature would focus on commonsense solutions aimed at reducing unintended pregnancy such as funding medically accurate sex education and ensuring access to birth control, including emergency contraception.

Clearly, the Justice Department reviewed documents highlighting the importance of helping sexual assault victims prevent pregnancy. In light of this evidence, it is troubling that the protocols remain silent on the issue and fail to protect women.

This deceptive and extreme measure sacrifices women's health in the name of a broad anti-choice agenda to demonize abortion. The federal government has no business making it a crime for doctors to provide the best care possible to women who need abortions.

Thirty years ago people thought that Roe would be a closed case, yet it is still in the headlines. There is a shifting political phenomenon in America. The fact that we have a hearing on a nominee who has not expressed approval for Roe is because we have a huge debate in the political realm about moral values.