A Little Known Law In Connecticut.

It is called Safe Harbors.

Lawmakers in blue states are linking protections for abortion and gender-affirming care

The push for “shield” bills reflects a growing recognition that the concept of bodily autonomy and the ability of doctors to make decisions with their patients links the two issues.

The 19th News

By Grace Panetta, Orion Rummler

June 9, 2023

Blue states are crafting a new kind of legislation to respond to a dramatic wave of restrictions on abortion access and gender-affirming care across the country. Democrats are invoking the fall of Roe v. Wade as a reason to protect both areas of health care simultaneously — while aiming to create safe havens for those fleeing surrounding Republican-controlled states. 

Lawmakers in five states — Illinois, New Mexico, Colorado, Washington state and Vermont, which has a Republican governor although Democrats control the state legislature — plus the District of Columbia have enacted such “shield” laws so far this year. 

Connecticut and Massachusetts were the first states to pass this type of “shield” bill into law last year, according to the Movement Advancement Project, which tracks LGBTQ+ policy. The laws vary in scope and are still evolving as more states, like Oregon and California, introduce their own bills to explicitly combine protections for gender-affirming care and abortion.

They provide a safe place for out-of-state clients to come knowing that their medical records are safe from snooping states.

The new push reflects a growing recognition of the fundamental connections between abortion rights and transgender rights by Democratic lawmakers, advocates say, in terms of bodily autonomy and letting doctors make decisions with patients. The bills are a response to the mounting legislative attacks and rhetorical vitriol Republicans are directing toward transgender rights both in statehouses and on the campaign trail.

NBC Connecticut had this to say,

At Middlesex Health, nurse practitioner Katy Tierney sees a similar trend.

“We're seeing people move to Connecticut from other states and come to Connecticut for care, because it's available here and we have our Safe Harbor laws,” Tierney, medical director of the Center for Gender Medicine and Wellness, said. “Quite honestly, as an ally to the trans community, it is my job to go out on that limb and make sure that we're doing the right kind of care.”

[…]

“We definitely see that stress coming through and patients are springing to plans about what would happen if they can’t access their hormones, or if there was a national ban or some kind of thing like that. For now, we're good,” Tierney said.

This reminds my of the “Underground Railroad” that was used to smuggle slaves out of the southern states, while this law smuggle people out of the southern for medically necessary treatments. And I worry something like the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 that required slave who ran away to the northern states. I am concerned that if the Republicans get control of Congress and the presidency we will see a laws passed requiring states to turn over the medical records or national bans on our healthcare.