New England Advocates Build a Regional Model for Abortion Rights

9/26/2023
by CARRIE N. BAKER

On Tuesday, Sept. 26, Massachusetts-based Reproductive Equity Now, formerly NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, announced an expansion of its work into Connecticut and New Hampshire to create a regional organization to strengthen abortion access across New England. As more states ban abortion, advocates hope this regional strategy will ensure abortion healthcare for New Englanders and patients traveling to the region for care.

“Reproductive Equity Now’s expansion reflects the urgency we face as a region in demanding, protecting, and expanding abortion access and reproductive equity for all,” said Rebecca Hart Holder, president of Reproductive Equity Now. “As 20 states have moved to restrict or ban abortion, wiping out access to care in broad regions of our country, we must focus on state-by-state work to build regional blocks for abortion access. This work will begin in New England, and we hope that this model can be replicated to advance reproductive freedom nationwide.”

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2023/09/26/new-england-abortion-rights-connecticut-new-hampshire-massachusetts/

Connecticut lawmakers pass bill to protect abortion seekers and providers from out-of-state lawsuits

By Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN
Sat April 30, 2022

(CNN) Connecticut lawmakers on Friday passed a bill designed to protect people who provide an abortion or receive support to obtain the procedure in Connecticut and are then sued in another state.

House Bill 5414, sponsored by state Democratic lawmakers, would enable a person or corporation who "has had a judgment entered" against them in another state for receiving, providing or helping a person obtain legal abortion services in Connecticut to sue for damages. Supporters of the bill say it would protect women from other states who travel to Connecticut to receive abortions, as well as the physicians who provide them.

Continued: https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/30/politics/connecticut-abortion-legislation/index.html

Only One Blue State Is Fully Preparing for the Next Phase of the Abortion Wars

Republican legislators are already plotting to punish reproductive health providers across state lines. Connecticut has a plan to fight back.

BY MARK JOSEPH STERN
APRIL 20, 2022

At least 26 states will ban most or all abortions if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade this summer, as it appears poised to do. Many blue states have strengthened abortion rights in the run-up to Roe’s potential demise. But few are planning for red states’ campaign to punish abortion providers and patients in places where it remains legal.

Connecticut, however, will not be caught off guard. On Tuesday, the state’s House of Representatives passed a bill spearheaded by Rep. Matt Blumenthal that would transform Connecticut into a sanctuary for legal abortion. The measure, H.B. 5414, bars state courts from enforcing another state’s penalties against someone who performed or facilitated an abortion that’s legal in Connecticut. It allows people sued under vigilante abortion bans, like Texas’ S.B. 8, to countersue in Connecticut court, collecting both damages and attorneys’ fees if they prevail. And it broadly prohibits state authorities from complying with another state’s request to investigate, penalize, or extradite individuals for providing or facilitating reproductive health services.

Continued: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/04/connecticuts-abortion-protection-blueprint.html