© 2024 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WECS · WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM · WVOF
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Connecticut AG creates special counsel for abortion rights

Greenwich Public School have become the target of a civil rights investigation by Attorney General William Tong (above) after a viral video appeared to show an assistant principal saying he won’t hire conservative teachers.
Dave Wurtzel
/
File / Connecticut Public
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong

Connecticut’s Democratic state attorney general announced plans Tuesday to appoint a new special counsel for reproductive rights, someone he said would be part of a “firewall” to protect the state’s abortion rights laws.

Attorney General William Tong said the special counsel, part of his office’s new civil rights division, will represent the state’s interests in “any court” by taking a leadership role in multistate amicus briefs filed in abortion cases and be the first to legally challenge efforts to pass a national abortion ban. Tong said he expects there will eventually be more staff for the yet-to-be hired special counsel.

“The fall of Roe was not the end,” said Tong, surrounded by Democratic legislators and abortion rights advocates, during a news conference. “It was just the beginning, the beginning of an assault, an attack on women and patients and doctors and nurses and health care providers, an attack on Connecticut families and just the beginning of our strong defense and building a firewall around women and patients and doctors and nurses and health care providers here in Connecticut.”

Tong also announced that Connecticut will participate in New York’s pro bono Legal Assistance Abortion Hotline. He said a volunteer network of lawyers from Connecticut has agreed to provide legal assistance and representation to patients and providers who face out-of-state lawsuits and other legal actions.

That free legal help may also be provided to patients who travel to Connecticut from states where abortion is restricted. Zari Watkins, the chief operating officer for Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, said at least 75 women from outside New England, New York and New Jersey have come to the state for abortion services since September 2021, when the Texas abortion ban took effect.

Chris Healy, executive director of the Connecticut Catholic Conference, said state public policy should “support young women at a critical moment in their lives” and called Tong’s announcement “political pandering.”

House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, accused state Democrats of trying to “weaponize” women’s reproductive health during an election year by pushing a “false narrative that elected Republicans and candidates here are threatening a health care choice that’s enshrined in Connecticut law.”

Stand up for civility

This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Public’s Members — listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. As a community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years.

Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.

Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.