Take Action: Testimony Toolkit for CT’s H.B. 5424
An Act Prohibiting Adverse Actions Against Health Care Providers for Providing Certain Health Care Services
Thank you for joining Reproductive Equity Now in our advocacy efforts during the 2024 Legislative Session! Below are directions on how to submit written testimony, how to sign up to testify at the public hearing, and a testimony template with helpful talking points and information.
If you need additional assistance navigating this guide, writing your testimony, or any additional questions, please email our CT State Director Liz Gustafson, lgustafson@reproequity.org.
UPCOMING ACTION:
Public Hearing: Wednesday March 13, 2024 at 11 AM
Bill we support: H.B. 5424 An Act Prohibiting Adverse Actions Against Health Care Providers for Providing Certain Health Care Services
How to Submit Written Testimony:
Please submit written testimony (Word or PDF format) using this online testimony submission form
When filling out the form, select March 13th, 2024 as the hearing date, H.B. 5424 as the bill you are submitting testimony for, and that you are submitting testimony in support.
Messaging, bill information, and helpful talking points are included below in the testimony template.
How to Sign Up to Testify
In Person Or Virtually:
To sign up to testify (in person or virtually), you must register by 3pm on Tuesday, March 12 via this online testimony registration form.
The registration form must contain the name of the person who will be testifying. A unique email address must be provided for each person registered to speak. Everyone who registers will receive a Zoom link sent to their email address. If you signed up to testify in person, but end up having a conflict, you can still testify in your same spot via zoom!
Speaker order of approved registrants will be posted on the Public Health Committee website on Tuesday, March 12 at 6pm under Public Hearing Testimony.
If you do not have internet access, you may provide testimony via telephone. To register to testify by phone, call the Phone Registrant Line at (860) 240-0560 to leave your contact information.
NOTE: When providing spoken testimony, you are limited to 3 minutes (roughly 1 page, max 1.5 pages of text). Focus on YOUR story or why the subject personally impacts you, your family, community, etc. We recommend timing yourself in advance!
If you are providing spoken testimony, please make sure to also submit a written version of your testimony using the online testimony submission form. Your written testimony can be longer than your spoken version.
Details for Testifying on the Day of the Public Hearing (In Person or on Zoom):
Testifying Virtually via Zoom:
Join the meeting by clicking the Zoom link that will be sent to your email, or from your calendar event. If you are able to, we suggest joining the Zoom meeting when there are about 5-7 people ahead of you.
When you first join the Zoom, it will be in a webinar format. When it is almost your turn, the Committee Clerks will promote you to a “panelist.” Kind reminder: Make sure your microphone is muted.
When it is your turn, a legislator will call your name. Please make sure your camera is turned on and you are unmuted.
We suggest beginning your remarks by acknowledging the chairs of the committee: "Senator Anwar, Representative McCarthey Vahey, and honorable members of the Public Health Committee.”
Introduce yourself very distinctly so the transcriber can understand. Mention your town/title/organization (whichever is most applicable), the bill number and title, and indicate right away that you are testifying in support of the bill.
Reminder: You are limited to 3 minutes max, so we suggest summarizing your written version.
When you finish, remain on screen for a moment, in case committee members want to ask questions.
Testifying in Person at the Legislative Office Building:
Directions to the Legislative Office Building can be found here.
Enter the LOB through the first floor revolving doors through the public entrance. You must pass through metal detectors to enter the LOB or the Capitol. There can sometimes be a line, so leave extra time.
The hearing will take place in Room 1D.
Your Turn At The Microphone
When your name is called, sit at the speaker's desk. You may have to turn on your mic when you get to the desk.
We suggest beginning your remarks by acknowledging the chairs of the committee "Senator Anwar, Representative McCarthy Vahey, and honorable members of the Public Health Committee.”
Introduce yourself very distinctly so the transcriber can understand. Mention your town, the bill number and title, and indicate right away you are testifying in support of the bill.
Reminder: You are limited to 3 minutes max, and we suggest summarizing your written version.
When you finish, remain at the microphone for a moment, in case committee members want to ask questions. Then return to your seat or leave the hearing, as you wish.
H.B. 5424 Testimony
Template & Talking Points
Below is a testimony toolkit for H.B. 5424 An Act Prohibiting Adverse Actions Against Health Care Providers for Providing Certain Health Care Services.
This testimony template is meant as a reference guide to help you think and write as you share why this is important to you, and important in our fight for reproductive equity.
REMINDER: Please remove all instructions/ suggestions and replace the orange text with your own writing. Use the bulleted sections as a reference to write testimony in your own words and your own voice! It is the personal touches that make great testimony.
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please reach out to Repro Equity Now’s Connecticut State Director Liz Gustafson, lgustafson@reproequity.org.
Senator Anwar, Representative McCarthey Vahey, and Distinguished Members of the Public Health Committee,
My name is [Insert Your Name Here], I am from [City or Town], and I am [if applicable mention your title, organization/ group affiliation or any other appropriate and relevant information]. Thank you for accepting this testimony in support of House Bill 5424 An Act Prohibiting Adverse Actions Against Health Care Providers for Providing Certain Health Care Services.
Share your story! In 1-2 paragraphs, explain why this issue is important to you.
What is your personal connection to the issue?
How will this impact you, your family, your community?
How will this improve access to time-sensitive and essential reproductive health care?
How would this bill protect you as a provider? Your provider colleagues?
How would it help ensure patients can access medically-accurate and time-sensitive care?
If you are willing to share, describe a personal experience. Have you personally been refused care due to moral/ religious/conscientious exceptions?
Please make sure to write comments in your own words in paragraph form, as your personal story, your lived experience, and your voice is what makes testimony the most compelling! Legislators want to hear from you, in your own voice!
Below are helpful talking points and information that may assist you as you explain why the bill is important, and how it would work to further protect providers and patients' access to health care here in Connecticut.
Background Context:
A report by ACLU and MergerWatch found that 1 in 6 hospital beds in the U.S. is within a health care facility that follows the Ethical and Religious Directives for Health Care Services, put forth by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops– and in Connecticut, as of 2016, 1,090 hospital beds were in Catholic Hospitals, comprising 17.7% of all hospital beds.
These directives prohibit a range of reproductive health care in Catholic health facilities, including contraception, sterilization, many fertility treatments, and abortion. Catholic hospitals have also moved to prohibit gender affirming care, issuing a doctrinal note in 2023 discouraging Catholic health systems from providing gender-affirming care.
Federal refusal laws often allow any provider or health care professional involved in patient care, and health care institutions as a whole, to refuse that care based on their religious or conscientious objection. This can result in the denial of life-saving, essential, and time-sensitive care that can be vital throughout a patient’s reproductive life, including contraceptive counseling and access, tubal ligations or vasectomies, miscarriage treatment, abortion care, and gender-affirming care.
H.B. 5424 will protect providers and patients access to essential health care by:
Ensuring health care institutions, such as religiously-affiliated hospitals, do not prohibit providers from providing medically-accurate information regarding a patient’s health status, counseling, and referrals for care that may not align with an institution’s moral or religious beliefs, and that providers will not face disciplinary or otherwise discriminatory action for providing such information to a patient.
Building on federal law by codifying existing protections under the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) by specifically preventing institutions from prohibiting providers from providing health care services related to pregnancy complications, including managing a miscarriage or treating an ectopic pregnancy, if failure to provide this care would violate standards of medical practice or result in risk to a patient’s life.
H.B. 5424 provides employment protections for health care providers if they choose to provide patients with medically accurate information or referrals if their employer does not provide care due to the institution’s religious or moral beliefs (such as reproductive health care or gender affirming care).
H.B. 5424 protects the free speech of providers by prohibiting their employer (i.e. health care entities, hospitals) from disciplining, discharging, or discriminating against providers for communicating medically accurate information regarding a patient’s health, counseling, or referrals to an alternate medical provider.
This bill will not require, force, or compel any individual or institution to offer any medical treatment, information, or referral that is against their religious or moral beliefs
H.B. 5424 will further protect providers employed by these institutions if they share medically accurate information regarding a patient’s health or make referrals to an alternate provider so patients can ultimately access the care they need.
Additional Supportive Talking Points:
Anyone seeking comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care should be able to expect information regarding their health, counseling, and medical care that is in line with clinical guidelines and best practices, and providers should not be limited or barred from providing such information or care.
Any delay in seeking time-sensitive reproductive health care, including pregnancy-related care, is a threat to public health and undermines individual agency and autonomy when making decisions about their health.
Massive religiously-affiliated health systems and institutions may be the only option for folks who live in certain parts of the state (i.e. more rural areas), who may face other barriers, such as lack of reliable transportation, or may require specialized care—but may have no alternative provider.
The denial of such care by large health care institutions, including religiously-affiliated institutions, delays access to essential sexual and reproductive health care services, exacerbates existing barriers, and further perpetuates stigma and shame for anyone who may be seeking care.
People may be unaware that some health care facilities can deny them medically-accurate information and care regarding their health– even in emergency situations. This undermines the patient-provider relationship, and we must take action to protect providers who wish to medically-accurate information from employer retaliation.
In a post- Roe world, Connecticut continues to make significant progress to protect our state’s health care providers who are doing all that they can to provide medically-accurate and compassionate care to their patients. H.B. 5424 would simply ensure that all of our state’s providers, regardless of their employer or hospital affiliation, are able to provide medically-accurate information, counseling, or referrals for patients to an alternate provider, without fear of disciplinary or discriminatory action for doing so.
Everyone, regardless zip code or socioeconomic status, should be able to access accurate information, referrals, counseling, and evidence- based health care that is in line with clinical guidelines– but may be limited in their options when seeking emergency or specialized care.
This legislation builds upon federal law (EMTALA) to prevent institutions from prohibiting providers from providing health care services related to pregnancy complications, including managing a miscarriage or treating an ectopic pregnancy, if failure to provide this care would violate standards of medical practice or result in risk to a patient’s life.
Lastly, add a concluding statement and thank them. Here’s an example:
I strongly support H.B 5424 An Act Prohibiting Adverse Actions Against Health Care Providers for Providing Certain Health Care Services, and respectfully urge the Public Health Committee and Connecticut General Assembly to vote favorably. Thank you for your time and consideration of this important bill.
Thank you,
[Insert your name here]
