Emergency Contraception Bill One Vote from Governor's Desk
       The bill expanding access to emergency contraception is one Senate vote away from Gov. Mitt Romney's desk, following a veto-proof 128-24 House vote on Thursday afternoon. The vote followed a sometimes heated debate about young girls accessing the morning-after pill without parental consent.
       The bill's supporters said the legislation, if approved, will reduce the number of abortions performed in Massachusetts by making emergency contraception available to rape victims at hospitals and to women at pharmacies without a prescription.
       The Senate will likely send the bill to Romney's desk when it meets next on Monday. He will have ten days to sign it, veto it or send it back with an amendment. Romney has not indicated his likely course of action.
       Opponents of the bill gathered outside Romney's office this afternoon and called on him to veto the bill should it reach his desk. While supporters of the bill say the pill is safe and prevents unwanted pregnancies following rape, contraceptive failure or unprotected sex, opponents say emergency contraception causes an abortion. "We respect life from the moment of conception until natural death," said Marie Sturgis, executive director of Massachusetts Citizens For Life.