Since taking office, Attorney General Tong has fought to protect reproductive justice in every major case impacting abortion access, including filing briefs at multiple stages of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, which ultimately overturned Roe v. Wade, and fighting on multiple fronts in both offensive and defensive cases to preserve access to medication abortion.
Beyond litigation, Attorney General Tong supports legislation protecting patients and providers of reproductive healthcare in Connecticut from out-of-state attacks on their rights to receive and provide medical care that is both safe and legal in Connecticut.
Attorney General Tong provides clarity to the public on their rights. Attorney General Tong issued a formal opinion in 2023 ensuring there would be no ambiguity as to patients’ rights to access abortion, providers’ ability to prescribe mifepristone, and the state’s ability to cover mifepristone under its Medicaid program.
Attorney General Tong supported the launch of the Abortion Legal Hotline in 2024, a partnership between Reproductive Equity Now and numerous Connecticut law firms and lawyers, to provide information and to connect patients, providers, and helpers with pro bono legal counsel.
In recognition of the seriousness of the threat to reproductive health care since Dobbs, in 2023 Attorney General Tong appointed Co-Special Counsel for Reproductive Rights to lead the office’s efforts to ensure that, in Connecticut, all individuals have access to the reproductive health care that they need and that patients and providers are safe from un-warranted attacks and from out-of-state attempts to impose civil or criminal liability on them simply for accessing legal health care in Connecticut. Together with Attorney General Tong, Co-Special Counsel will continue to bring the fight wherever there is a challenge to individuals’ rights to access and provide reproductive healthcare.
Recently Passed Reproductive Rights Laws
Shield Law (2022 – PA 22-19 & 2025 – PA 25-168)
In 2022, Connecticut was the first state in the nation to pass a reproductive rights “Shield Law” in anticipation of the ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned decades of precedent holding that the United States Constitution protects individuals’ rights to control their own bodies, including the choice to have an abortion. Connecticut’s Shield Law protects individuals from being subjected to litigation for providing or receiving reproductive and gender-affirming health care services that are lawful in Connecticut. These protections are essential for individuals seeking the medical care they need without fear of intimidation or legal liability.
In 2025, the legislature amended Connecticut’s Shield Law to provide further protections. As amended, the shield law ensures:
Protections related to providing, receiving or assisting with reproductive and gender-affirming health care services that are legal in Connecticut
- Connecticut courts cannot order witnesses to appear and testify in another state.Conn. Gen. Stat. § 54-82i(b).
- The Governor cannot extradite individuals based on charges issued in another state. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 54-162.
- Public agencies cannot provide information or expend resources furthering interstate investigations or proceedings.Conn. Gen. Stat. § 54-155b.
- Provider license applications cannot be denied and disciplinary action cannot be imposed based on another state’s disciplinary action.Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 19a-17e, 20-579a, and 52-571m.
Access to money damages for enforced judgments
- Providers, assistants, and patients can recover damages when someone from another state seeks to enforce an out-of-state judgment for providing, assisting in, or obtaining reproductive or gender-affirming health care services that are legal in Connecticut.Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-571m(b).
Protecting patient information
- Covered entities and business associates, including hospitals, healthcare providers, and health information exchanges, cannot disclose reproductive health care information without the patient or that patient’s conservator, guardian, or other legal representative’s written consent.Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-146w.The law does not prevent, however, health care providers from sharing information with other providers when needed to provide patient care.When information is sought via subpoena, the Office of the Attorney General must receive notice. (All information should be sent to AG.ReproRights@ct.gov or faxed to 860-808-5347)
While the landscape of access changes nationwide, Connecticut continues to adapt and learn lessons from challenges to other states’ shield laws in order to protects individuals seeking and providing essential care.
Notice to Health Care Entities Submitting Subpoenas to the Office of the Attorney General:
Covered entities and business associates- including hospitals, healthcare providers, health information exchanges- cannot disclose reproductive health care information without the patient or that patient’s conservator, guardian, or other legal representative’s written consent. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-146w. The law does not prevent, however, health care providers from sharing information with other providers when needed to provide care to a patient. When information is sought via subpoena, the Office of the Attorney General must receive notice. Health care entities may submit copies by either emailing the subpoena to AG.ReproRights@ct.gov or faxing them to 860-808-5347. *Information submitted to the Office of the Attorney General may be considered public information and subject to disclosure under the Connecticut Freedom Of Information Act, Connecticut General Statutes Section 1-200 et. seq.
Access to Contraceptives (2023 – PA 23-52)
In 2023, Connecticut’s legislature authorized pharmacists to dispense emergency or hormonal contraception to patients under certain conditions and required pharmacists to give patients a list of nearby pharmacies that dispense medication to terminate a pregnancy if the pharmacy does not have a supply of the medication.
Healthcare Provider Licensure Protections (2023 – PA 23-128)
In 2023, Connecticut’s legislature acted to: (a) prohibit health care providers from being disciplined or adversely affected by Connecticut licensing agencies, institutional employers, and professional liability insurers due to other states’ disciplinary actions for certain reproductive health care services; and (b) limit providers’ employers or insurers from taking adverse actions for care that is legal in Connecticut.
State level EMTALA (2025 – PA 25-168)
The federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) requires hospitals with emergency departments to screen patients that present for care, regardless of their ability to pay, and provide the treatment necessary to stabilize a patient suffering a medical emergency that seriously threatens their life or health.
In 2025, the Connecticut legislature passed legislation to clarify that in Connecticut the emergency care that must be provided to stabilize a patient includes the reproductive healthcare services that are legal in the state, which would include abortion if necessary to stabilize the patient. This is consistent with the language of EMTALA and how it has been interpreted until recently. The legislation also authorizes the Department of Public Health to promulgate regulations codifying a full state-level EMTALA in the event that the federal government repeals EMTALA in whole or part, substantively alters EMTALA, or fails to fully enforce EMTALA.
The legislation also provides patients protections from discrimination. The anti-discrimination protections are consistent with existing anti-discrimination laws in Connecticut and makes clear that those same protections apply to the provision of emergency medical care.
Minor Access to Reproductive Healthcare Services (2025 – PA 25-28)
In 2025, the legislature passed legislation regarding minor’s access to essential reproductive healthcare services which allows minors to consent to services/counseling related to contraceptives, labor and delivery, and prenatal care.
AG Press Releases on Reproductive Rights
Attorney General Tong Statement Regarding Trump Attack on Planned Parenthood of Southern New England
Testimony Supporting Legislation to Protect Access to Emergency Medical Treatment
Office of the Attorney General Submits Testimony Supporting Shield Law Reforms
Attorney General Tong Opposes Needless Barriers to Mifepristone Access in North Carolina
Attorney General Tong Opposes Needless Barriers to Mifepristone Access in North Carolina
Attorney General Tong Statement on SCOTUS Decision Regarding Emergency Abortion Care
Attorney General Tong Statement on Supreme Court Decision Preserving Access to Medication Abortion
Attorney General Tong Files Supreme Court Amicus Brief Defending Access to Medication Abortion
Attorney General Tong Joins Multistate Coalition
Attorney General Tong Statement on Supreme Court Decision
Attorney General Tong Joins Amicus Brief Fighting for Texas Patients
Attorney General Tong Joins Multistate Coalition in Fight Against Idaho Radical Abortion Ban
Attorney General Tong Statement on Fifth Circuit Decision Limiting Access to Medication Abortion
Attorney General Tong Announces New Actions to Protect Abortion in Connecticut
Resources:
- AG Memo Post Dobbs Decision
- Reproductive Equity Now Hotline number: (833) 309-6301
- This hotline was created In partnership with the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, the Women’s Bar Foundation of Massachusetts , ACLU of Massachusetts, Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, Foley Hoag LLP, Goodwin Procter LLP, Goulston & Storrs PC, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo, P.C., Ropes & Gray LLP, Rowthorn Law LLC, Franklin and Frankel Law, Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder PC, Silver Golub & Teitell LLP, Candace Fay Attorney & Counsel at Large PC, and more.
- Abortion Access in Connecticut
Other websites to AG reproductive rights counsel pages:
Reproductive rights | New York State Attorney General
Arizona Reproductive Rights | Arizona Attorney General
Reproductive Rights | State of California - Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General
Abortion Rights in New Jersey - New Jersey Office of Attorney General
Abortion Rights in Maine PDF “Know your rights”
Abortion and Reproductive Health Rights Minnesota
Resource: Know Your Reproductive Rights | Office of the Vermont Attorney General
Reproductive Justice Unit | Mass.gov
The-Status-of-Medication-Abortion-in-PA-questions-and-answers.pdf Q & A Pennsylvania