Connecticut sets up hotline, website with information about abortion rights, availability
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To quell “confusion and panic” about access to abortion rights in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, Connecticut has created a reproductive rights information line to provide information about access to care.
The line — 1-866-CTCHOICE (1-866-282-4642) — and an accompanying website, portal.ct.gov/reproductiverights, were announced by Gov. Ned Lamont on Friday, the day they both went live. The phone line is available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Both the hotline and website are bilingual in English and Spanish.
The new resources locate abortion providers, offer a breakdown of abortion rights, give information about paying for an abortion, offer resources about getting transportation help and list community organizations that offer support. The phone line and website do not offer legal advice.
In the news release, Attorney General William Tong described the post-Roe reversal atmosphere as “chaos.”
“Abortion is legal in Connecticut. Despite that, the chaos following the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs has created confusion and panic,” Tong said in the release. “This website and hotline promote access to important information for patients and providers.”
The establishment of the hotline and website are the latest steps the state has taken to protect abortion rights. Connecticut’s “safe harbor” law went into effect on July 1 expanding the right to offer both kinds of abortions — medication and aspiration — to advanced practice clinicians. Before the law, APCs could provide medication abortions but only physicians could do aspirations.
The safe harbor law also protects patients who come to Connecticut from out of state, and protects Connecticut providers, against lawsuits filed by the patients’ states of origin. Connecticut courts will not cooperate with out-of-state investigation of this type and patients and providers can fight investigations begun in other states.
In the news release, Connecticut Department of Social Services Commissioner Deidre Gifford said “We are already seeing the devastating human impact of laws and policies that restrict the basic health care rights of individuals and put caring clinicians in jeopardy for simply providing essential care to their patients.”
In the release, Lamont said “the State of Connecticut will never stand between you and your doctor.
“If you are ready to have a family, we want you to you have access to the health care you need, and if for any reason you need abortion services, we support you and we want to make sure you can find the health care you need as easily as possible,” he said.
Susan Dunne can be reached at sdunne@courant.com.
