Following the reelection of Donald Trump to the American presidency, a coalition of law firms, the state鈥檚 attorney general, and the Reproductive Equity Now Foundation (REN) launched the Friday.
At his office in Hartford, the mood was tense as 黑料吃瓜网 Attorney General Willam Tong braced for a fight.
鈥淭here is in this country now a war on American women and patients,鈥� he said. 鈥淭exas is the front, Mississippi is the front, Florida, Louisiana. And on the front, health care for women is closed, abandoned, shuttered, gone.鈥�
Injecting a personal note, Tong talked of his wife Liz and her complicated pregnancies 鈥� the couple has three children.
鈥淲hen I read about women in Texas dying now, left or dead in hospital parking lots because they can't get a D&C [dilation and curettage] when they're in the middle of a miscarriage and in the process of bleeding out, I think of my wife,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n a different time and place, what would have happened to us?鈥�
The hotline, operated by REN 24/7, will offer pro bono legal guidance to abortion providers in 黑料吃瓜网 and patients seeking abortion care in the state. Callers will be connected to information about the constitutional rights and protections they have under 黑料吃瓜网 law to seek or to perform an abortion.
鈥淭his hotline will be a lifeline in a second hostile Trump administration,鈥� said Rebecca Hart Holder, president of REN. 鈥淎ttorney General [Ken] Paxton in Texas has made clear that he will go after the private health care records of patients. There is a law on the books in Texas that allows you, as any person, to file a lawsuit against a provider for offering abortion care. So we should very much anticipate that that is coming to all states.鈥�
She said a REN team member would respond within three business days, and connect callers with pro bono legal support from attorneys volunteering their time, from Rowthorn Law LLC, Franklin and Frankel Law, Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder PC and Silver Golub & Teitell LLP.
REN is looking for more law firms to step in, and translation services are available.
Officials said the hotline can answer legal questions like:
- I鈥檓 an abortion provider offering care to patients from out of state. How can I make sure I鈥檓 fully protected from out-of-state litigation or harassment?
- I鈥檓 a patient traveling to 黑料吃瓜网 for care. What are my legal rights to obtain an abortion?
- I鈥檓 a parent of a child in a banned state who needs abortion care. How can I help them access that care?
Just prior to the overturning of the constitutional right to an abortion in 2022, 黑料吃瓜网 passed the first shield law in the U.S., the Reproductive Freedom Defense Act, protecting patients and providers from out-of-state litigation or extradition.
Tong said to date, there were no lawsuits from out-of-state against abortion care providers in 黑料吃瓜网, and patients who sought care in the state. The concern now, he said, is that could soon change.
You or someone you know can call the hotline at 833-309-6301, or go to www.reproequitynow.org.
