When the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments recently in the Dobbs vs Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, which could place reasonable restrictions on abortion after 15 weeks of gestation, the Connecticut abortion lobby went into abject hysteria, incorrectly claiming that access to ending innocent life was now at risk.
If only that were the case. The reaction was an exercise in preserving its relevance while cynically asking for donations to fill the coffers of the abortion industry.
It speaks to a growing desperation within the abortion industry that hearts and minds are changing about an issue that strikes at the very core of being human.
An opinion piece that appeared recently in the CT Mirror, “From the cities to rural areas, Connecticut has an abortion Access problem” (December 20), was written to introduce us to the supposed difficulty of access to abortions in our state by blowing its dog whistle on race and wealth.
Times and opinions are changing on preserving life at its inception to its natural end. Each day, more national polls demonstrate that Americans are embracing pro-life policies and rejecting the radical views of the abortion oligarchs. Polling shows those who believe abortion should be legal don’t approve of taxpayer financed procedures and late-term abortions. These pro-choice voters also support parental notification, streamlining adoption procedures, and rigorous medical qualifications and standards for those performing these procedures.
The state of Connecticut is also very financially generous when it comes to funding abortion providers and assisting low-income women on the Husky program. Since 2018, citizens, through their state taxes, paid for 6,995 abortions for low-income women, for a total of $4.2 million. This amounted to 75% of the abortions provided that year in Connecticut according to the Department of Public Health. Additionally, the state provides the largest abortion provider in the state, Planned Parenthood, millions of dollars a year in state funds and federal pass-through grants.
Despite these subsidies, one can predict the abortion lobby will further seek to burnish laws that could lead to infanticide or even declaring Connecticut a “sanctuary state” similar to plans being discussed in California. In New Jersey, a new law allows abortion right to the point of birth.
Rather than arguing over access, legislators should give a new look at an issue where there is support on both sides—parental notification law. Connecticut is one of seven states that has no parental notification laws. Once a girl reaches 13 years of age she is free to receive an abortion with no questions asked and no requirement to inform a parent or guardian. Connecticut has revised its criminal laws concerning juveniles because their minds are not mature enough to grasp the ramifications of the crimes they commit. However, the legislature believes a female, as young as thirteen, can make a choice to have an abortion on their own.
These two versions of juvenile maturity are completely inconsistent. This dichotomy is allowed to exist because of the constant opposition of abortion advocates to a change in state law that makes sense. They would rather focus supporting a false claim concerning abortion access, than supporting legislation that would protect young girls from sexual predators or overzealous abortion providers.
These common ground areas must be pursued because they will protect many lives that could be lost and will move the public debate to an honest discussion—is innocent life worth saving?
Christopher Healy is the Executive Director of the Connecticut Catholic Conference
