Lawmakers hear hours of testimony on HB 7135, bill to expand Connecticut shield law for reproductive and gender-affirming care

More than three dozen witnesses — including clinicians, patients and advocacy groups — testified March 24 before the Judiciary Committee on HB 7135, a bill that would strengthen Connecticut’s existing shield law for reproductive care and extend explicit protections to providers of gender‑affirming health care and telehealth services.

Supporters said the bill is needed to protect clinicians and patients after a wave of restrictions in other states. Mallory Sanchez, a staff attorney with the Center for Children’s Advocacy who works in the organization’s LGBTQ youth advocacy project, told the committee HB 7135 would “strengthen Connecticut’s reproductive freedom defense act and maintains Connecticut’s position as a leader in preserving access to health care.” Sanchez said the bill’s telehealth language is critical because “telehealth is an established practice that has good results” and allows specialists in other states to continue seeing patients remotely.

The proponents’ argument: why HB 7135 matters

Advocates and clinicians described the bill as a response to what they called coordinated legal threats in other states. Angel Foster, cofounder of the Massachusetts Medication Abortion Access Project,…