New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Advocates: Conn. can be ‘haven’ if Roe v. Wade is overturned
With the landmark Supreme Court case that codified the legal right to abortion in the United States in jeopardy of being overturned, advocates say Connecticut could become a “haven” for those in need of critical care.
As Saturday marked the 49-year anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the future of the law remains in limbo and more than 20 states could ban or significantly limit access to abortions if it’s overturned.
However, abortion access in Connecticut would not be affected. Since 1990, state law has protected a person’s right to choose, but abortions are prohibited after the fetus is viable, or around 23 weeks, unless the mother’s life or health are at risk.
Dr. Nancy Stanwood, who treats surgical abortion patients with Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, said if Roe v. Wade is overturned, it could provide an opportunity for Connecticut to help some of its neighbors.
“There will be states not too far away from us where people won’t be able to get the care that they need, and this is an opportunity for us to step up,” Stanwood said.
Stanwood said her colleagues in the South have already experienced a glimpse of a future without Roe v. Wade.
Texas recently implemented a law that bans abortions after a medical professional can detect cardiac activity, which is usually around six weeks. Since the law went into effect last year, Stanwood said her colleagues in neighboring states like Oklahoma have seen a “significant increase in volume of patients from Texas.”
“Connecticut could be in a position to be a haven state for access to critical abortion care,” Stanwood said.
The Supreme Court heard arguments in December regarding a lawsuit filed by Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the lone licensed abortion facility in Mississippi, after the state passed a law in 2018 that prohibits abortions after 15 weeks, according to the Associated Press.
During the arguments, six conservative justices indicated they would uphold the Mississippi law, which could overturn Roe v. Wade and the 1992 case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The court will most likely not decide the outcome
until June, the Associated Press reported.
“This may be the last anniversary of Roe v. Wade,” said Amanda Skinner, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southern New England.
“We are at a crisis point in our country,” Skinner said. “It is astonishing to me that we are finding ourselves five decades later contemplating a United States where people who can conceive no longer have full agency over their bodies.”
If Roe v. Wade is overturned, 21 states have laws in place to ban or significantly reduce access to abortions, including Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group and nonprofit in favor of abortion rights.
“We are on the precipice of a world where 36 million women and many more people — people who are non-binary, transgender men, anybody who can become pregnant — might find themselves without access to safe, legal abortion in their communities,” Skinner said.
For the past four years, Planned Parenthood of Southern New England has performed 36,170 abortions in Connecticut. About 65 percent of those were conducted with medication, while the remaining were surgical abortions, according to data provided by the agency.
This branch of Planned Parenthood has 15 clinics in the area — 14 in Connecticut and one in Rhode Island. From June 2020 to July 2021, abortions accounted for about 7 percent of the agency’s services in Connecticut, or more than 9,000 medicated and surgical abortions.
About 35 percent of Planned Parenthood’s services were for contraceptive care, making up more than 44,000 appointments in Connecticut. Sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment also comprised 35 percent of the agency’s services in Connecticut.
Planned Parenthood also provides primary care, preventative care, cancer screenings, pregnancy testing, biopsies, gender affirming hormone care and HIV prevention services in Connecticut.
On the eve of Roe v. Wade’s 49th anniversary, thousands of anti-abortion protesters rallied in front of the nation’s capital and marched to the Supreme Court Friday. The Associated Press reported the annual rally seemed more like a victory celebration this year.
The Archdiocese of Hartford’s Respect Life Ministry typically sends a group to the march, but was unable to this year due to the surging COVID-19 cases.
“We remain diligent in our prayer and are inspired today by the many marchers who each year remind us of the importance of fighting for the beauty and dignity of life,” the Archdiocese wrote on its Facebook page Friday.
Skinner said she would like to see Connecticut become a beacon of hope for other states that may not have access to abortion care in the future.
Abortion rights advocates are also pushing to expand access across Connecticut by allowing more health care providers to perform the surgical procedure. State law only allows physicians to conduct surgical abortions.
“For other states to know what it can really look like for people to have full agency over their lives and their bodies and their ability to plan their families,” Skinner said.
“What we now know is that we can no longer rely on the federal courts to protect our rights,” Skinner said. “The next steps are really about the work on the ground, the work in our communities and the work to enshrine the tenets of Roe into law state by state.”