Connecticut lawmakers passed legislation strengthening reproductive rights, making the state a “place of refuge” for people seeking abortions.

This hour on Where We Live, we talk about this measure – which has become more important in light of the leaked Supreme Court documents — indicating a decision to overturn Roe. V. Wade.

The Guttmacher Institute reports that nine states have enacted a total of 33 abortion restrictions as of April 15. More states are writing restrictions into law. States have enacted 11 measures protecting abortion access in seven states. Guttmacher reports that 2020 was the first year that more than half of U.S. abortions were medication abortions.

According to data obtained by Where We Live, there were 9,373 abortion visits at Planned Parenthood of Southern New England’s (PPSNE) 14 health centers in Connecticut in 2021 – of which 6,282 were Medication Abortions (MAB), and 3,091 were in-clinic abortions.

PPSNE is the largest provider of abortion care in Connecticut, while Hartford GYN is the state’s only independent clinic for abortion.

Connecticut’s “safe haven” legislation is first-of-its-kind in the nation.

Produced by Sujata Srinivasan. Special thanks to Matt Dwyer and Camila Vallejo for extra audio.

GUESTS: 

• Rep. Matt Blumenthal (D-Stamford, Darien): House Vice-Chair of the Judiciary Committee
• Julia Simon–Kerr: Professor of Law, University of Connecticut School of Law
• Dr. Kate Pascucci: OB-GYN, West Hartford

Where We Live is dedicated to exploring the issues and impact of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe. We wanted to create a space to make it easy for our listeners to find all of this content with one click. Visit ctpublic.org/PostRoeWorld for easy access to our ongoing coverage.