Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont and abortion rights advocates marked the third anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision by highlighting the state’s efforts to strengthen abortion rights at the State Capitol in Hartford on Tuesday.
In the three years since the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade,19 states have banned or seriously restricted abortions.
Lamont said Connecticut has gone in the other direction.
“This Dobbs decision, I think, was a big wake-up call to how we have to stand up every day and fight for our rights. We are doing everything we can here in the state of Connecticut,” he said.
One of the laws that was passed by state lawmakers this year codifies the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. That's a federal law that’s currently being challenged in the Supreme Court because it requires hospitals that receive Medicare funds to provide treatment for emergency medical conditions, including abortion care.
“We need to ensure that our intent is clear and that emergency abortions are protected at every hospital in the state of Connecticut, regardless of their religious affiliation,” said CT Representative Jillian Gilchrest (D-West Hartford), the co-chair of the General Assembly’s Reproductive Rights Caucus.
Lawmakers are also looking to provide more funding for Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, if the federal government cuts it off from Medicaid as promised by the Trump Administration, she said.
