Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and the Reproductive Equity Now Foundation Friday announced an abortion legal hotline.
The goal is to provide legal support to patients residing in New England, or traveling there for an abortion. It will also give information to providers about what reproductive care is legal under state laws.
The quick action of progressive advocacy groups and Democratic leaders across the county was sparked by the election Tuesday of Donald Trump as the next president.
Trump, the first convicted felon to be elected president, bragged about the part he played in the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision finding the right to an abortion in the U.S. Constitution.
In Connecticut, Tong said abortion remains “safe, legal and accessible.”
Tong said the legal hotline is one way to help pregnant people in and traveling to states for abortion access to know their rights and how to receive reproductive health care.
“We are going to be in this fight every single day, but we cannot do it alone,” Tong said. “That’s what today is about. It’s about inviting a broader community of advocates and lawyers to help us in this fight … to strengthen the firewall that all of us are joined together in to protect women, patients, doctors and nurses, our neighbors, our friends, our family.”
Some of the Connecticut law firms participating in the Reproductive Equity Now hotline are Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder; Silver Golub & Teitell; Franklin and Frankel Law; and Rowthorn Law.
“Since our founding, Koskoff attorneys have stood up for the rights and liberties of all people, especially the most vulnerable,” Christopher Mattei, a Koskoff partner said. “Our partnership in this effort is part of Koskoff’s longstanding commitment to advocate for safety in women’s health care. We are proud to join Attorney General Tong and the Reproductive Equity Now Foundation to support this critical legal resource.”
Tong said any other firms and solo practitioners who are interested are welcome to join.
“We are proud to be a part of this effort and to do what we can to help protect patient access to essential health care services in Connecticut and beyond,” Aaron Frankel of Franklin and Frankel Law said.
Rebecca Hart Holder, president of Reproductive Equity Now, said the Connecticut abortion legal hotline is free and confidential, and is an expansion of the Massachusetts hotline.
Holder said that they have heard questions such as: “‘I’m an abortion provider helping a patient traveling from out of state. How do I protect the patient? And how do I protect myself?’ ‘I’m a patient traveling for care? How do I know I’m safe? Where can I go to make sure I can access legitimate care?’ ‘I’m the parent of a young person in a banned state, and I need to get them abortion care. How do I do it?'”
“The fight to defend abortion access is local,” Holder said. “It is based here in our states and our communities. Information is power, and to put information in the hands of patients and providers is to fight back. People will always need abortions, and it is up to all of us to ensure that they can continue to get the care that they deserve.”
In 2022, The Reproductive Free Defense Act was passed in Connecticut to protect residents’ reproductive rights and out-of-state providers and patients when crossing state lines to receive an abortion. Jonathan Levine, a partner at Silver Golub, said the firm salutes this “pioneering Shield Law.”
“In the uncertain legal environment created in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, women across this country will be dependent on abortion sanctuary states for access to critical abortion and reproductive health care services that they can no longer obtain in their home states,” Levine said. “After this election it is more important than ever that patients, medical providers, and the public know the law and their legal rights to access and to provide care that is legally protected in Connecticut.
“We thank Attorney General Tong and the Reproductive Equity Now Foundation for establishing the Connecticut Abortion Legal Hotline, and we are proud to support this initiative to provide legal services to the people who need them,” Levine added.
Once it’s determined if the individual contacting the hotline is experiencing an access-to-care issue or a legal problem, Holder said the organization will find the best attorney to connect to help. Many attorneys have stepped up to the plate, but Holder said there is a vast array of practice areas that need to be cover.
“We need help on health care law, tax law, real estate and asset protection, people who specialize in telehealth have been incredibly important … employment law,” Holder said. “The range of questions that we get is huge.”