by Jamil Ragland
HARTFORD, CT – Connecticut’s Democratic leaders gathered on the second anniversary of the Dobbs decision striking down Roe v. Wade to reassure residents that abortion is still legal in the state and to decry further attacks on abortion rights by opponents.
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, commonly referred to as the Dobbs case, was the landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2022 that found that there was no constitutional right to abortion, thereby leaving it to the states to regulate abortion access. Since the decision, 14 states have adopted near-total abortion bans, with three enacting six-week abortion bans.
“Today is the second anniversary of the Dobbs ruling, and that ruling two years ago today overturned the landmark decision of Roe versus Wade that guaranteed in our United States Constitution the right to an abortion,” Lt. Gov Susan Bysiewicz said. “And since the Dobbs decision we’ve seen coordinated attacks in legislatures and courts around the country. Today, approximately 22 million women of reproductive age, that’s one in three women, are living in states where abortion is either unavailable or severely restricted.”
Liz Gustfason, state director of Reproductive Equity Now Connecticut, discusses the fallout of the Dobbs decision, which struck down Roe v. Wade two years ago, during a news conference in the state Capitol on Monday, June 24, 2024. Credit: Screengrab / CT-N
Bysiewicz went on to say that the attacks on abortion rights have continued since the Dobbs case, and warned that the court may use the Dobbs decision to go after other rights such as in-vitro fertilization, and interracial and same-sex marriage. She ended by letting residents know that abortion remains available in Connecticut.
“We want to be very clear that here in Connecticut abortion is safe, legal, and protected in our state, and we want the people outside of the state of Connecticut who live in areas where abortion is restricted to know that you can come here to receive critical health care, and it will be provided to you and we will assist with whatever you need,” Bysiewicz said.
Connecticut enshrined abortion rights into state law over three decades ago, so the Dobbs decision had no impact on the availability of abortion here. Connecticut further strengthened abortion rights by passing the Reproductive Freedom Defense Act, a first-in-the-nation law that shields abortion providers in the state from retaliation when a patient from a state where abortion is illegal travels to Connecticut to receive one. The law was later updated to include gender-affirming care services.
Amanda Skinner, CEO of Planned Parenthood, stressed the need for vigilance to protect access to abortion as new lawsuits attempt to erode access even further.
“This court is poised to make yet another sweeping decision that could further jeopardize access to safe abortion care and endanger the lives of pregnant people across this country,” Skinner said. “The consequences will be catastrophic if the court allows states to ignore the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTLA), a federal law protecting people’s access to the care they need in emergency situations, including abortion, after nearly 48 years. Unless the Supreme Court is willing to let pregnant people die or suffer serious complications, they must ensure that EMTLA remains in place.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal said that the recent cases before the Supreme Court show the need for federal protection of abortion rights.
“There is a war on women from the right-wing fringe. It’s MAGA extremism. Let’s call it what it is,” Blumemthal said. “And it has been expressed by the United States Supreme Court, by colleagues in Congress, and across the country.”
Blumenthal said that the Women’s Reproductive Freedom Act, a bill that enshrines the protections of Roe v. Wade into law, will be the first bill the Senate considers when it returns in July.
“That will be on the calendar, the first legislative action before the United States Senate when we come back. And this measure will give our Republican colleagues a chance to show who they are, put them on record, and put this issue on the ballot in November,” Blumenthal said.
House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, dismissed Monday’s press conference as an attempt to distract from other issues facing Connecticut.
“Today’s ‘second anniversary’ news conference from Democrats, laced with politically charged rhetoric, was a stunt to deflect attention from the state’s exorbitant cost of living caused by their failed policies,” Candelora said. “Connecticut law protects a woman’s right to seek an abortion, a point emphasized by the Lieutenant Governor as she invited women from other states to come here for the procedure. Democrats can keep returning to this tired tactic, but eventually they’ll have to address residents’ concerns about the rising cost of groceries, electricity, and their majority party’s many policy decisions implementing fees and taxes that have made our state so expensive.”