Child Autopsy Secrecy: Hickenlooper Vetoes Bill

DENVER, CO -- By John Herrick. Gov. John Hickenlooper vetoed a proposed law Friday that would have limited public access to child autopsy reports in an effort to protect the privacy of families — a bill that passed the legislature with wide bipartisan support.

The bill was backed by county coroners who said the disclosure of reports that examine the cause of death of a child can unnecessarily invade the privacy of families and encourage copycat teen suicides.

Journalists and transparency advocates, however, argued that the autopsy reports help shed light on suspicious causes of death and child abuse at home and in the state’s child welfare system. 9NEWS and the Colorado Broadcasters Association opposed the bill.

“Transparency can lead to enhanced government protections, greater public and private resources, and heightened public understanding and demand for change,” said Gov. John Hickenlooper in the veto letter. He added, “An informed public has societal benefits for all at-risk children, present and future.”
Jeffrey Roberts, executive director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, was among the opponents of the proposed law.

“Journalists have proven how valuable they can be to expose problems with the child welfare system and help the public understand what has happened when a child dies in a suspicious manner,” he told The Colorado Independent.

Currently, autopsy reports are specifically excluded from a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) provision that makes medical records confidential. If they are requested by a member of the public, including the media, a coroner must petition to court for a determination that the release of the information is not in the public interest and could cause some form of injury.

The bill would have flipped this burden so that the person requesting these records would have to seek permission from a district court on the grounds that disclosure “constitutes a significant public benefit.”
The bill passed both chambers on the second-to-last day of the 2018 legislative session, clearing the House on a 63-2 vote and the Senate 34-1.

Sen. Bob Gardner, a Republican from Colorado Springs who sponsored the bill, said he was disappointed to learn the governor vetoed the bill that he thought struck the right balance between transparency and privacy. He said he was mindful that these reports can serve the public interest.

“But overwhelmingly there seemed to be a belief by Coloradans that privacy for grieving families ought to trump unlimited public disclosure,” Gardner told The Colorado Independent.

Read more in the Colorado Independent

Gov. John Hickenlooper spoke at the Colorado Water Congress annual convention on Jan. 25. Photo by John Herrick

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