As the nation approaches the first anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning the landmark abortion rights ruling Roe v. Wade, a new coalition of 22 state lieutenant governors has formed. The Reproductive Freedom Coalition says it will work to protect and expand reproductive rights and access to care. Lieutenant Governors from New York, Massachusetts and Vermont are part of the group, which was put together by Connecticut Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz, a second-term Democrat.
So, what is the need for this group, in your view?
I think there is a huge need for state leaders to band together at a time when women's reproductive freedoms are under attack, not just in state legislatures, but also in courtrooms across our country. I was inspired after seeing the governors, my governor, Ned Lamont and 19 others put together a reproductive freedom alliance, and I thought it was important for lieutenant governors to create their own coalition, because interestingly, while there are 12 female governors, we have 25 Democratic governors, 15 of them are women. We are a very diverse group and I thought it was important for us to get together to pool our resources, look at opportunities to learn from each other's legislation, administrative policies to protect and to expand women's rights.
Many of the states in the coalition have already strengthened their reproductive freedom laws and rules, and some actually even did so before the Supreme Court ruling preemptively. So specifically, what's the goal in many of these, as you mentioned, so called blue states?
Yes, and I just want to be very clear that I did ask leaders in red states to join us and unfortunately, we didn't have any takers. But I will say that some of the states have actually passed constitutional amendments to codify Roe v. Wade into state statutes. Our state was one of the states that actually passed a reproductive freedom act before the Dobbs decision was announced and our legislation protects women that come to Connecticut from other states where abortion might be illegal and they are protected when they receive that medical care. That same legislation protects the health care givers that provide that important health care. So, we wanted to make sure that we were ready. Other states have adopted similar measures. Interestingly, other states are acting to try to support manufacturers of drugs for contraception, or abortion that might become illegal. So, we wanted to share resources and best practices, but also to stand up for women. So, if you look at this coalition of 21 states and one territory Guam, you're going to see a very diverse group of leaders, black, Hispanic, men and women who have stood up and they together represent more than 150 million people across the country where state leaders, both in the governor's office and lieutenant governor's office have said, we're going to do everything that we can in our power to protect women's reproductive rights. And I just want to add that another reason that we have this sense of urgency, that we are anticipating a decision in the Fifth Circuit Court in Texas that may take away the FDA approval of Mifepristone. Mifepristone is a widely used abortion medication that has been used by more than 5 million women over the past 20 years very safely. And we're extremely concerned that this federal court is going to take away that FDA approval. So, it's another reason why we wanted to take action, form a coalition so that we can start preparing.
Why lieutenant governors? What do they bring to the table that is different from what their states and the governors are already doing?
I would say that, just as governors have said that they want to stand together to protect and expand women's health care access, and just as democratic attorneys general across the country are fighting this fight in courtrooms and legislatures, we are a very diverse group that have been elected by people in our states and we want to stand up. Many of us heard when we were on the campaign trail, that this was a very critical issue to voters. I think voters want to make sure that leaders in their state are doing everything they can, both in their legislature or through administrative policy to protect and expand women's health care access at a time when other states and courts are trying to take away those basic rights.
Do you see a state in the coalition that, in your view, has gotten it right in reaction to the Supreme Court ruling?
I think many of the states that are part of our effort have done some really great things. Connecticut, for example, I think, has always been a leader in this effort. Griswold v. Connecticut, a Supreme Court case, in 1965, was the basis for the Roe v. Wade ruling. Our state codified Roe v. Wade into our state statutes in 1990. So, we took steps very early and we have continued to lead the way as we try to protect women, not just women in our own states, but women who may be coming to Connecticut to receive care that is illegal in their states. Let's not forget that more than a third of our states have acted to, in effect ban abortion, and we've already seen in our Planned Parenthood clinics in Connecticut, people coming from other states in order to get care.
What do you make of the current state of play on this particular issue? It is really fascinating to look at the map of the U.S. right now and see the patchwork of different laws and territories where you don't have access to X, Y or Z. But states like Connecticut really haven't changed since the ruling.
I will say that if you ask voters what they want, they will stand up and say, two thirds of the voters in my state and across the country, want women to have safe access to abortion care and to women's reproductive health care. Look at the Kansas referendum the vote that they had. It was so clear, it won by 20 points. And so, it's amazing to me that there are state leaders and courts, for the first time in our country's history, that are trying to take away long established rights, rights that have been in place since the early 1970’s away from women. And it's not just on the reproductive rights front. We also see this in other Supreme Court cases, like a recent one that put the right to gun ownership over the safety of women. So, we are seeing are age being taken away. This is an extremely disturbing trend and I can't think of a more basic right that women have than to determine and to have autonomy over their own body, because if you don't have bodily autonomy, how can you ensure your own economic security?
Just one more thing. Budget talks will be ramping up in the very near future. Now, how do you feel about the state of the administration's budget proposal and how likely you are to accomplish many of its priorities?
Well, we have submitted to the Connecticut legislature or fifth balanced budget proposal and our second major middle class tax relief cut that we would like to see. We are hoping we're going to continue our record of getting that budget approved and we are already in discussion with our legislative partners on both sides of the aisle to accomplish that. So, fingers crossed, and with continued hard work, we'll have a fiscally responsible budget that continues to invest in infrastructure and education and continues to pay down debt. We've already paid down $7 billion of our state's debt and we're hoping to continue to do that.
