HARTFORD, Conn. (Washington Insider Magazine) – The Connecticut Senate granted final legislative approval to a legislation abortion rights activists say is required to safeguard in-state medical professionals, as well as women who come to Connecticut to terminate pregnancies and those who assist them, from legal proceedings coming from out-of-state legislation.
Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, D-New Haven, said the bill was required “in defence of our own values and our own legal system” in Connecticut, which has a track record of supporting abortion rights. It follows after Texas passed a legislation that allows physicians, clinics, and others to be sued even if they perform or assist a prohibited abortion in another state, according to ABC NEWS.
The law, which had previously passed the House earlier this month, received a 25-9 vote in the Senate. It is currently on its way to Governor Ned Lamont’s office. The Democrat has stated that he intends to sign it.
Supporters expressed concern about the recent enactment of new abortion regulations in an increasing number of conservative states, as well as the likelihood that the United States Supreme Court would overrule or impair Roe v. Wade, the groundbreaking 1973 ruling that formed a country wide right to abortion.
Local and state authorities in Connecticut, which enacted the Roe v. Wade verdict into state law in 1990, would be barred from collaborating in investigation and prosecution of abortion facilities in the state under the measure. The legislation also changes the state’s extradition laws and prohibits the release of medical data from out-of-state patients.
The Family Institute of Connecticut, a socially conservative organisation, has condemned the bill, claiming that it will establish a “safe harbour” for abortion providers who breach abortion regulations in other states.
During the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, the legislation would also enable an advanced practise registered nurse, medical assistant, or nurse-midwife to conduct the most frequent type of in-clinic abortion termed as aspiration abortion. Physicians are the only ones who can do the surgery right now.
Advocates argue that the extra physicians are required to remedy a scarcity of doctors who conduct abortions in Connecticut, as well as to prepare for an influx of females from out-of-state requesting the procedure.
Senator Patricia Billie Miller, D-Stamford, a Black woman, said she thinks that women should have control over their bodies. Miller, on the other hand, said she would vote no on the legislation because of the racist history of abortion, which was highlighted during a statement on the House floor by rookie Rep. Treneé McGee, D-West Haven, who talked of Black females being directed toward abortion as a method of birth control.
