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Chaotic, sustained questioning as Public Health hears heated debate over HB5516 provider protections for counseling and referrals
Summary
The committee heard hours of testimony and vigorous questioning on HB5516, a bill to protect clinicians who provide medically accurate counseling and referrals on reproductive and gender‑affirming care; supporters from ACOG, Planned Parenthood, clinicians and trainees described cases where institutional policies constrained patient counseling, while opponents, including the Connecticut Catholic Conference, warned it would undermine religious directives and hospital governance.
Lawmakers spent a large portion of the hearing on one of the session’s most politically sensitive items: HB5516, which would bar healthcare institutions from disciplining providers who give medically accurate information, counseling or referrals about reproductive care and gender‑affirming services.
Supporters, including Dr. Nancy Stanwood (Planned Parenthood), Dr. Cara Delaney (ACOG), and several physician‑trainees, said the bill protects standard clinical practice and prevents 'moral injury' to clinicians asked to withhold information. Dr. Delaney described a situation where a patient required an emergency abortion to preserve life and said institutional constraints had…
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