Democrats press Gov. Lamont: Defend ‘Connecticut values’ in advance of Trump presidency

The state Senate's two top leaders called Monday for Gov. Ned Lamont to safeguard "Connecticut values" by taking proactive steps ahead of Republican Donald J. Trump taking office as president in two months.

The request covers abortion rights , LGBTQ rights , and public health issues, including vaccines, as Trump has made controversial nominations for key posts in the federal government.

The Democratic leaders, Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney of New Haven and Senate majority leader Bob Duff of Norwalk, said state officials "must act now to ensure that Connecticut remains a safe, fair, and inclusive state for all, as promised in our Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and Bill of Rights."

In a letter to Lamont, the leaders said, "We appreciate the efforts of your administration, the Department of Public Health, UConn, legislators, and others who are currently developing a plan to stockpile doses of mifepristone. States such as Massachusetts, Washington, and New York have already taken similar actions, and we are pleased that Connecticut plans to follow their lead."

With Trump being sworn in on Jan. 20, they wrote, "Time is of the essence, and we must act promptly to ensure the safety and protection of women in Connecticut. Tens of millions of American women have already seen their reproductive healthcare options diminished by Mr. Trump's U.S. Supreme Court and various Republican state legislatures. We need to do our part here in Connecticut to ensure that a new Trump administration does not further undermine these rights for our residents."

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in a case involving mifepristone, an abortion pill that is used in more than 60% of abortions nationwide and in Connecticut. The court ruled that the doctors who brought the case had no legal standing to do so, and thus the case was dismissed for legal reasons, rather than on the broader merits. The issue, as a result, will be debated again in the future.

While the issue has been discussed in preliminary stages, there has been no stockpiling at this point in Connecticut, officials said.

Lamont signed several laws last year that were prompted by the Supreme Court's overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision on abortion rights. Lamont signed measures with legal protections for doctors and others who provide abortions for women who travel to Connecticut from other states. Another law allows pharmacists to prescribe birth control, rather than the previous law that required patients to see a doctor first.

"The administration is doing everything we can to ensure that we have strong reproductive rights in Connecticut," said Julia Bergman, the chief spokeswoman for Lamont.

Looney and Duff raised questions about the controversial nomination for secretary of Health and Human Services of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental attorney who has become a close ally of Trump after dropping his own bid to run for president. Trump and his allies strongly support Kennedy.

"We must protect the health and well-being of Connecticut residents against Mr. Trump's statement that he'll 'make a decision' about banning vaccinations in America and that he may appoint to his cabinet a man opposed to fluoride in our public drinking water supplies and to vaccines that have protected generations of American children," the senators said. "We are prepared to partner with you and with other New England governors and legislatures to establish a unified, regional response to protect our citizens and their families."

Last year, Massachusetts took action to stockpile mifepristone after a federal judge in Texas, who was nominated by Trump, suspended the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's previous approval of the drug. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Texas ruling by saying that the doctors who filed the lawsuit did not have standing to sue.

"Medication abortion is safe, effective and legal. Mifepristone has been used safely for more than 20 years and is the gold standard," Gov. Maura Healey said at the time in a statement. "Here in Massachusetts, we are not going to let one extremist judge in Texas turn back the clock on this proven medication and restrict access to care in our state. The action we are taking protects access to mifepristone in Massachusetts and protects patients and providers from liability. In Massachusetts, we stand for civil rights and freedom. We will always protect access to reproductive health care, including medication abortion."

House Speaker Matt Ritter of Hartford raised the issue upon reappointing Rep. Cristin McCarthy-Vahey of Fairfield as the House chair of the public health committee.

"We live in a time where protecting public health is critical," Ritter said. "Vaccines save lives and reproductive health care is a right. These are Connecticut public health values."

In a related matter, the Connecticut Catholic Conference, which represents the Roman Catholic bishops in the state, released a report that said that "state officials are offering misleading information to the public about the impact of women coming to Connecticut to seek abortions while actively subverting the legislative process to attack religious freedom and removing safeguards that protect innocent life."

In its "State of Abortion in Connecticut 2024" report, the Catholic conference cited statistics from the state health department in 2023 that they said showed the increase in abortions from patients from other states had increased by only 51 patients.

"This is 0.004 percent of the 12,445 abortions reported," the conference said. "The twisting of data is statistical exaggeration for political ends. The actual number is also not close to the 150 percent increase the advocates continually claim."

Planned Parenthood had a different view.

"Last year, Planned Parenthood of Southern New England's Connecticut health centers saw a 147% increase in patients coming from states that have banned or severely restricted abortion access since the 2022 Dobbs decision, compared to the previous year when the federal protections of Roe v. Wade were still in place," a spokesman said. "Abortion is health care, and nobody should be forced to travel outside of their home community to access the care they need. Planned Parenthood of Southern New England remains committed to providing safe and equitable care to all people, ensuring that everyone has the right to make their own decisions about their bodies, lives, and futures."