CT Examiner: The Stakes Could Not be Clearer on Abortion

Op-Ed by Liz Gustafson and Gretchen Raffa | Originally Published by the CT Examiner

On this day in 1993, Dr. David Gunn, an abortion provider in Florida, was fatally shot while providing care at his clinic. Thirty-three years later, we honor his legacy through the National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers, recognizing the clinicians who continue to provide essential care despite ongoing stigma, harassment, and threats. As anti-abortion politicians and lawyers pursue civil and criminal cases against providers and medication abortion faces renewed national attacks, the stakes could not be clearer.

The best way Connecticut can show its appreciation is by protecting and investing in the providers who ensure patients can access the care they need.

Connecticut has a strong legacy of protecting providers from these hostile out-of-state actors. We led the nation as the first state to pass a shield law in anticipation of the fall of Roe v. Wade, taking action to protect patients and providers from out-of-state anti-abortion extremists and politicians hellbent on taking away our freedoms. To build on that lasting leadership and ensure that these protections remain strong, Connecticut must now advance legislation to bolster our shield law and expressly protect providers who want to offer abortion care via telehealth, regardless of where a patient lives.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of telehealth has grown dramatically, making it possible for thousands of patients across the country to access care more easily than ever before. At Planned Parenthood of Southern New England’s (PPSNE) health centers alone, nearly 7,000 patients in Connecticut or Rhode Island received telehealth care in 2025, including 400 medication abortions. 

Telehealth not only allows patients to receive safe and effective care without the barriers of expensive or time-consuming travel, but it also provides a critical lifeline for people who live in states where politicians have restricted essential health care, like abortion, to access the care they need. Connecticut has the opportunity to shape the national abortion landscape by protecting providers who wish to offer this kind of care to patients who otherwise couldn’t access it. 

Eight other states have passed similar shield laws that include telehealth protections, including our neighbors in New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Providers in these states have legally and safely provided care to more than 9,700 patients in banned or restricted states via telehealth per month in the second quarter of 2024–representing about half of all telehealth abortion care nationwide. 

Along with bolstering these critical shield law protections, Connecticut legislators must ensure that health care providers here in the Nutmeg state have sustainable funding to continue delivering this care. The recent loss of federal Medicaid reimbursements under Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” has put further strain on Planned Parenthood of Southern New England (PPSNE). PPSNE offers sexual and reproductive health care for more than 60,000 patients in Connecticut and Rhode Island each year, and is a critical component of the health care ecosystem in Connecticut. An essential component of sustainable access to care includes ensuring that providers are adequately compensated for the care they provide.

At the end of 2025, Governor Lamont granted a one-time allocation of emergency funding to PPSNE to help backfill the blocked federal funding, including Medicaid reimbursements. But this funding will soon run out. Without providing the necessary funding, access to reproductive health care, including abortion, will remain in jeopardy in our state. 

Our providers deserve better than political interference, medically unnecessary barriers, or the threat of criminalization when they are doing their jobs and honoring their oath to care for patients.

We deeply appreciate all of our abortion care providers who show up every day for their patients despite the escalating threats of criminalization, harassment, and violence. But appreciation alone is not enough. If we truly value these providers and the care they deliver, our elected leaders must protect and invest in them — by bolstering our state’s shield law and allocating funding to reproductive health care clinics needed to serve their communities. These providers deliver essential, life-saving care every day, and they deserve action. 

Liz Gustafson is the Connecticut State Director at Reproductive Equity Now, fighting to increase funding and bolster shield laws to protect providers across Connecticut. Gretchen Raffa is the Chief Policy and Advocacy Officer for Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, which serves patients in Connecticut and Rhode Island, and vehemently supports additional funding and strengthened shield laws in Connecticut.