Vice President Kamala Harris Discusses Reproductive Rights In CT

CONNECTICUT — Vice President Kamala Harris discussed reproductive rights at a roundtable discussion at Central Connecticut State University.

She was joined by U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-5), Gov. Ned Lamont and Planned Parenthood CEO Alexis McGill Johnson.

Connecticut's codified access to abortion is a model for the rest of the country, Harris said. She urged Congress to pass the Women's Health Protection Act, which would codify access to abortion at the federal level.

The Dobbs decision set the stage for further erosion of personal rights in the country, Harris and Hayes said.

"This ruling did not only have implications for abortion access, but for the right to contraceptives and the legality of same sex and interracial marriages," Hayes said.

The issue of abortion has become one of the top issues heading into the midterm elections. A NPR/PBS/Marist poll conducted around Sept. 1 found that inflation remains the top concern for voters, but abortion was second in line.

Connecticut expanded abortion access earlier this year. The new law allows physician assistants and advanced practice registered nurses to perform aspiration abortions in the first trimester. It also limits how much information Connecticut authorities and doctors can share when a person comes to the state for an abortion.

Hayes is seeking a third term representing Connecticut's 5th Congressional District. She will face off against former Republican State Sen. George Logan in what is expected to be the state's closest congressional race.

Politico recently changed its 5th district forecast to a toss-up. FiveThirtyEight said Hayes is favored to win.

The ruling's impact also goes beyond the country's borders, Harris said. It makes it more difficult for U.S. officials to discuss issues of human and privacy rights on the international stage.

"The impact of this quite literally will invariably impact women and people around the world,” Harris said.

Black women are three times as likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women, Hayes said.

"The loss of abortion rights, largely across the South and Midwest, will only compound that," she said.

"It should come as no surprise that the same states that have enacted these bans, the same 16 states, are the ones with the worst maternal mortality rate," McGill Johnson said.