Members of Connecticut’s Reproductive Rights Caucus plan to push for additional protections for abortion care this session.
The group, led by State Representatives Jillian Gilchrest (D-West Hartford) and Matt Blumenthal (D-Stamford), laid out their priorities at the state capitol on Wednesday.
Among their priorities are enhancing patient data privacy and strengthening protections for out-of-state providers, particularly those treating patients via telehealth.
They also want to strengthen EMTALA, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. The law requires Medicaid-funded emergency rooms to treat patients regardless of their ability to pay.
Gilchrest, who is running for U.S. Representative in the state’s first House district, said federal threats to abortion care mean Connecticut has to step up.
“This administration and states across this country are demonizing folks and the services they need,” Gilchrest said. “We are not doing that in the state of Connecticut; we are saying that gender affirming care, reproductive health care is health care, and everyone should have access to that care when they need it.”
The caucus also plans to support higher wages for doulas and a child tax credit.
“And we will be pushing for a number of other protections to ensure that, again, the full spectrum of reproductive health care, including fertility coverage, is readily and affordably accessible to patients and individuals across our state,” Blumenthal said.
Connecticut recently began allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control. The state also rolled out its first emergency contraceptive vending machines in January 2025.
At the end of Wednesday's press conference, a person who did not identify themselves by name said the lawmakers' actions “had to be stopped.”
“We all have different beliefs,” Gilchrest responded. “Those beliefs should not inform policies.”
