We took action in 2023, passing legislation to license free-standing birthing centers, aiming to enhance accessibility to high-quality maternal health services. This legislative framework also introduced a doula certification program administered by the Connecticut Department of Public Health.
We also passed several other new laws last year protecting reproductive rights in our state, including:
- Protecting medical providers' licenses, privileges, and credentials from adverse actions taken by another state based on their participation in reproductive healthcare services legal in our state;
- Allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control;
- Increasing access to reproductive care by college students at public institutions of higher education;
- Protecting the privacy of patient health data online.
All of that work builds on our leadership in 2022 when the Connecticut General Assembly successfully enacted the Reproductive Freedom Defense Act. It provided legal protection to medical providers, patients, and Connecticut residents from out-of-state legal attack.
This legislation expanded practitioners eligible to provide abortion care by authorizing certain properly qualified advanced practitioners to perform specific kinds of first-trimester abortions. Subsequently, at least 17 states, along with the District of Columbia, have adopted similar legal provisions. This legislation has reportedly reduced wait times for abortion care in our state even as the number of people traveling here for care has significantly increased.
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