Reproductive Equity Now Urges Lawmakers to Strengthen Protections for Abortion Providers

WATCH: Connecticut State Director Liz Gustafson Testifies in front of the General Law Committee in Support of S.B. 227 

HARTFORD (February 24, 2026) – Yesterday, Reproductive Equity Now’s Connecticut State Director, Liz Gustafson, testified in front of the General Law Committee of the Connecticut Legislature in support of S.B. 227. This legislation will further protect the privacy, confidentiality, and safety of abortion and gender-affirming care providers by allowing medications prescribed for reproductive and gender-affirming health care services to be labeled with the name of the prescribing or dispensing practice, in place of the individual health care provider. Gustafson illuminated for the Committee why this measure, which mirrors laws in other key states with comprehensive “shield” protections for abortion and gender-affirming care providers, is urgently needed in the Nutmeg State. 

You can watch Gustafson deliver her testimony for the committee HERE or read, as prepared for delivery, below. You can also read Reproductive Equity Now’s submitted written testimony HERE.

Oral Testimony

February 23, 2026

Reproductive Equity Now Testimony in Support of S.B. 227

Liz Gustafson, Connecticut State Director

Connecticut General Law Committee 

*as prepared for delivery*

Honorable Chairs, Ranking members, and esteemed members of the General Law Committee, my name is Liz Gustafson, and I am the Connecticut State Director of Reproductive Equity Now. Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of S.B. 227. Reproductive Equity Now works in Connecticut and across New England to make equitable access to the full spectrum of reproductive health care a reality for all people. While a significant part of my job is advocating for policies that will protect and expand access to this care, another component is having the honor to work with and advocate on behalf of providers and patients. 

Whether it be the makeup of the Supreme Court, who holds power in the Oval Office, or targeted out-of-state legal threats and persecution, abortion and gender-affirming care providers remain resolute and committed to ensuring people receive the highest quality standard of care. 

Thankfully in 2022, Connecticut saw what was coming, and took action to pass the first in the nation shield law to protect providers, patients, and helpers pre-dobbs, and similar shield provisions have been enacted in 18 states and Washington D.C. Now, four years later, we know how critical it is for us to continue bolstering our existing shield law and offer additional layers of protection for the safety and privacy of providers. 

Together with complementary concepts expected in additional committees, particularly provisions to protect providers regardless of patient location, S.B. 227 would allow medications prescribed for reproductive health care services to be labeled with the name of the prescribing or dispensing practice in place of the prescribing or dispensing health care provider.

Access to abortion care is increasingly threatened by hostile states across the country, as out-of-state actors are eager to target and criminalize providers by utilizing any and every opportunity to do so. This legislation aims to protect providers who prescribe medication abortion from unwarranted and hostile out-of-state intrusions into medical decision-making and address a method that has allegedly been used by hostile actors to identify and target individual providers via prescription labels. 

Whether a patient travels to Connecticut to seek legally protected care within our borders—or our state acts to bolster our existing shield law to protect providers who are willing to provide care via telehealth, regardless of patient location—allowing providers to opt to include their practice name in place of their individual name on prescription labels is a practical step Connecticut can take to offer an additional layer of protection to our state’s providers. 

S.B. 227 models similar legislation in states who also have comprehensive shield laws, including Massachusetts, California, Colorado, New York, Maine, Washington, and Vermont. Providers are ready to answer the call and meet patients wherever they are– and we must answer the call to further protect them. S.B. 227 would further allow Connecticut to do everything in its power as a state government to mitigate risks to licensed providers in our state, and shield them from hostile, out-of-state government overreach.

Repro Equity Now respectfully urges the committee to pass S.B. 227. Thank you.

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