Reproductive Equity Now Statement Ahead of Public Hearing on Bolstering Connecticut’s “Shield Law”
HB 7135 strengthens Connecticut’s “Shield Law” to cover telehealth abortion and gender-affirming care
HARTFORD (March 24, 2025) – Reproductive Equity Now’s Connecticut State Director Liz Gustafson released the following statement ahead of today’s public hearing in the Judiciary Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly on H.B. 7135, legislation that would strengthen Connecticut’s first-in-the-nation “shield law” to further protect abortion and gender-affirming care providers, including those who utilize telemedicine.
“Connecticut was the first state to take action to protect providers in the post-Dobbs era – and now it is time to build upon that legacy and strengthen those protections,” said Liz Gustafson, Connecticut State Director for Reproductive Equity Now. “H.B. 7135 will strengthen Connecticut’s existing shield law by offering an additional layer of protection for clinicians as they continue providing life-saving, life-affirming abortion and gender-affirming care, both in person and via telehealth. Recent civil and criminal action by Texas and Louisiana Attorneys General targeting abortion providers shows that their agenda to reach across borders into protected states is not hypothetical – but is happening in real-time. Our state’s reproductive and gender-affirming care providers continue to show up for their patients to offer the highest standard of medical care—Connecticut has the responsibility to show up for them.”
Three days after the results of the 2024 Presidential Election, the Reproductive Equity Now Foundation expanded its Abortion Legal Hotline operations into Connecticut, in partnership with Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and top law firms across the Nutmeg State. This Hotline connects Connecticut-based health care providers, helpers, and patients obtaining abortion care in Connecticut with free and confidential legal advice and resources about their rights to access and provide abortion care.
Last month, Reproductive Equity Now announced its legislative agenda for the 2025 Connecticut legislative session, which included bolstering shield protections for abortion providers, as well as expanding access to abortion care throughout pregnancy and affirming the right to emergency pregnancy-related care amidst federal attacks.
In addition to H.B. 7135, later today Connecticut’s Public Health Committee is holding a public hearing on S.B. 7, proposed legislation that would bolster, at the state level, protections enumerated in the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), such as emergency abortion care, and will also make clear that no provider at any health care institution should be disciplined for sharing medically accurate information with a patient, or making a referral for care.
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