Both sides of the abortion debate clashed at the Connecticut state Capitol on Monday.

Providers asked lawmakers to expand Connecticut’s abortion shield law, while opponents pushed for a parental notification law.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, abortion is now banned in 13 states and severely restricted in several others, according to KFF, a nonpartisan health research group.

There’s a catch, though.

Patients can obtain abortion pills through the mail from providers in Connecticut, but those doctors face legal threats.

“I could render that service to that individual, but I would not have protections in the state of Connecticut if there was litigation,” said Dr. Cara Delaney, an OB/GYN at UConn Health.

Louisiana has criminally indicted doctors in New York and California for shipping abortion medications to patients there. And Texas is seeking civil penalties from out-of-state providers.

“It is a crime what they are doing, but because of states like New York - who have set up – whose governor basically has put herself in the breach and will refuse to extradite this doctor,” Louisiana’s Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill said in May 2025. “We’re not going to stop trying to extradite her and prosecute her for the crimes that she is committing in our state.”

But New York and California refused to extradite the providers due to their states’ shield laws.

“A doctor replied to a call for help – and in return, she faces up to five years in prison and fines up to $50,000," New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said after signing the law. "After today, that will no longer happen."

Democratic lawmakers want to provide the same protections in Connecticut.

On Monday, pro-choice groups urged lawmakers to pass a bill expanding the state’s first-in-the-nation shield law to cover “legally protected" procedures “regardless of whether the patient is located in this state.”

“Currently, with the shield laws in Connecticut, it protects people who are coming to Connecticut to get abortion care,” Delaney said. “So this would be extending it so that it includes telehealth abortion.”

Opponents argued that Connecticut has no right to infringe on other states’ abortion laws.

“Consider how we would feel if Texas permitted their salespeople to mail assault rifles into Connecticut and then shielded gun manufacturers from lawsuits or created procedural obstacles and vindictive countersuit causes of action,” wrote Leslie Wolfgang, with the Family Institute of Connecticut.

On the flip side, abortion opponents pushed lawmakers to approve a parental notification law. Under that proposal, teens would have to notify at least one parent at least 48 hours before receiving abortion care.

“Consider your own children,” said Dr. Mark Desrosiers, a Glastonbury dentist. “Don’t you want to know what treatment they will receive?”

Supporters noted that many other medical procedures require notification.

“In my previous role as a school nurse, I could not administer Tylenol to a 14-year-old without parental consent,” said registered nurse Kathleen Johnson. “Yet we are here asking that parents of minors be notified before they can obtain an abortion.”

Opponents said some teens can't notify their parents because they are scared or the victim of abuse.

“Most young people will engage their parents, but for those who are unable to do it, we want to ensure they get the care they need,” said state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest (D-West Hartford).

Minors could ask a judge for a waiver in limited circumstances under the proposed legislation – but critics said that is problematic too.

“This process is itself a barrier,” said Grace Williams, with the Yale School of Public Health. “It requires minors to find transportation, potentially miss school, appear in court, and prove their maturity to a judge in order to access medical care.”

Submit written testimony for both bills HERE.

The parental notification law is unlikely to even get a vote in the Democrat-majority General Assembly.

As for Connecticut's abortion shield law, it and others around the country are likely headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.