Colorado Gov. Protects Women From Themselves

Via feministing:

Governor Bill Owens vetoed a bill Tuesday that would have required Colorado hospitals to inform sexual assault survivors about emergency contraption pills.

...

Gov. Owens, a Catholic, said he rejected the proposal because it would have forced church-based hospitals to go against their own moral values, and because it might have caused a woman to "innocently violate her personal, moral and religious beliefs about when life begins."

It is most reassuring that Governor Owens wants to protect female patients, who have just been physically violated by a stranger or an acquaintance, from mentally violating themselves. But seriously: does the Governor actually believe that simply providing patients with information about the medical standard of care might cause them to [innocently, of course, since we're talking about females here, so rational thought or informed consent cannot enter the discussion] lose their personal, moral or religious compass? And, regardless of the Governor's beliefs, why is it acceptable for him to issue statements depicting female patients as infantile, simpletons incapable of making their own medical decisions without adult supervision, and interference from strangers?

Update: Commenter Crispy points out that the bill was vetoed on April 5, 2005.