HARTFORD, Conn. — Gov. Ned Lamont signed a first-in-the-nation reproductive rights bill into Connecticut state law on Thursday.
Abortion rights advocates contend Connecticut's new law, HB-5414, which takes effect July 1, is needed to protect in-state medical providers from legal action stemming from out-of-state laws, as well as the patients who travel to Connecticut and those who help them. The legislation also expands who can perform abortions.
"This is a bill I wanted to sign as soon as possible," Lamont said in a video update.
This comes after an authentic draft of the SCOTUS opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked to the public earlier this week.
"No politician is going to get between you and your doctor - you make the choice," Lamont added.
Lamont's likely gubernatorial contender, Bob Stefanowski, released a written statement that the draft opinion suggesting the U.S. Supreme Court could be poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case “doesn’t change anything here in Connecticut” where he said, “a woman’s right to choose is fully protected under state law.”
Democratic Party officials have called on Stefanowski to go further and explain whether he supports the current state law and whether he’d support new restrictions.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Jareliz Diaz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jdiaz@fox61.com
----
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.