This bill limits the Governor’s discretion to extradite individuals accused of performing acts in Connecticut that result in crimes in another state. Specifically, he may only do so if the acts would also be punishable under Connecticut’s laws if their consequences, as claimed by the demanding state, had taken effect in this state.

The bill also establishes a cause of action that allows persons who were sued in another state for allegedly providing, or receiving support for, reproductive health services that are legal in Connecticut to recover certain costs they incurred defending the original action and bringing an action under the bill. Under the bill, “reproductive health care services” include all medical, surgical, counseling, or referral services related to the human reproductive system, such as pregnancy, contraception, or pregnancy termination.

The bill limits the assistance officers of Connecticut courts, public agencies, and certain health care providers may provide in out-of-state judicial actions related to reproductive health care services that are legal in this state. With exceptions, the bill generally prohibits the following with respect to these actions:

1. court officers from issuing summons for criminal cases or subpoenas for civil actions or proceedings;
2. public agencies, or individuals acting on their behalf, from providing information or expending resources to support an investigation seeking to impose criminal or civil liability; and
3. certain health care providers, payors, or information processors from disclosing protected information without written consent from a patient or an authorized legal representative.

Additionally, the bill allows advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), nurse-midwives, and physician assistants (PAs) to perform aspiration abortions (the most common type of abortion during the first trimester). The bill also explicitly authorizes these providers to perform medication abortions, which conforms to existing practice resulting from a 2001 attorney general opinion. It specifies that these providers may perform either type of abortion in accordance with their respective licensing statutes.

The bill correspondingly specifies that the decision to terminate a pregnancy before the viability of the fetus must be made solely by that patient in consultation with the patient’s physician, APRN, nurse- midwife, or PA, not just the patient and physician as under current law.

Under the bill, as under existing law, physicians may perform any type of abortion. Existing law, unchanged by the bill, prohibits an abortion from being performed after the viability of the fetus except when needed to preserve the pregnant patient’s life or health.