Connecticut governor signs law to protect residents from restrictive abortion laws in other states News
ID 12019 / Pixabay
Connecticut governor signs law to protect residents from restrictive abortion laws in other states

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont Tuesday attended a ceremonial signing of House Bill 5414, the Reproductive Freedom Defense Act (RFDA). RFDA, which Lamont officially signed into law on May 5, provides significant protections to individuals providing or seeking abortions in Connecticut from restrictive abortion laws in other states.

The bill includes the following protections:

  • Expands which medical professionals are allowed to perform first-trimester suction aspiration and medication abortions;
  • Protects individuals accused of seeking or providing reproductive healthcare in Connecticut from extradition to states which criminalize it;
  • Prohibits state agencies and medical providers from assisting in investigations or prosecutions from other states for reproductive healthcare that is legal in Connecticut;
  • Provides for recovery of costs incurred for individuals defending themselves in lawsuits in other states for allegedly providing or receiving support for reproductive services that are legal in Connecticut; and
  • Allows patients to consult advanced practice registered nurses, nurse midwives and physicians assistants before obtaining a legal abortion.

In a April 2022 statement, Connecticut Senator Steve Cassano said:

We need to protect a woman’s right to choose, which has been enshrined in United States law for half a century. This legislation takes action to protect our state from overreaching laws from others. As other states pass increasingly restrictive bills, we are countering those bills by protecting residents and visitors alike from others seeking to persecute them. It’s an important step to defend women’s rights in our state.

RFDA does not alter Connecticut’s ban on abortions after viability “except when necessary to preserve the life or health” of the parent.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Justice Department brings anit-trust action against AT&T

On November 20, 1974, the Department of Justice filed its final anti-trust suit against AT&T. United States v. AT&T was ultimately settled out of court with an agreement that the corporation would break up its monopoly on phone service throughout the country.

Nuremberg war crimes trials began

On November 20, 1945, the war crimes trials of Nazi World War II leaders began in the German city of Nuremberg. Review the Nuremberg Tribunal's Charter and the verdicts and sentences handed down on major war figures.

Winston Churchill born

On November 20, 1874, Sir Winston Churchill was born in Woodstock, England. He would go on to lead the United Kingdom as Prime Minister through World War II. Toward the end of the war, Churchill worked with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to craft the treaties and accords that have defined the world since WWII. A 2002 poll by the BBC declared Churchill the Greatest Briton of all time.

New Jersey ratifies Bill of Rights

New Jersey ratified the Bill of Rights, a set of 10 fundamental amendments to the US Constitution, on November 20, 1789, becoming the first state to do so. The state also ratified an amendment on federal representation which ultimately failed. Additionally, New Jersey rejected an amendment on congressional salaries, which would eventually become the 27th Amendment more than 200 years later. Read the articles ratified by New Jersey.