The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a suspension of Connecticut’s legislative session, which appears to also mean the end of two anti-life bills. While the General Assembly is unlikely to reconvene before May 6, it’s possible the bills will be brought up again in a special session scheduled to take place over the summer. If not, then it won’t be until next year that any action is taken on the bills.
HB 5420, An Act Concerning Aid in Dying for Terminally Ill Patients was slated for a public hearing back on March 11, 2020. But it failed to pass through the House Public Health Committee before the virus caused the legislature to shut down. Compassion and Choices, a group that advocates for assisted suicide, has stated they will “continue to grow our grassroots supporter base with events across the state that educate and empower Connecticut residents to chart their own end-of-life journey.”
The other bill, SB 144, An Act Concerning Deceptive Advertising Practices of Limited Services Pregnancy Centers, was not voted on in the House Public Health Committee before the shut down. Since these pro-life help organizations don’t offer abortion, the bill accused them of only offering “limited services.” The bill would have mandated pregnancy centers not rely on “false, misleading, or deceptive” advertising. NARAL helped inspire the act after a pregnancy center moved into the same building as a NARAL Pro-Choice CT.
The group declared that the pro-life center’s “Pregnant? Need Help?” sign was a form of deception.
This is not the first time an anti-pregnancy center bill has failed to pass, nor is it the first time an assisted suicide bill failed to make it in Connecticut. Three times now Connecticut has attempted to enact restrictions on pregnancy centers, and as of now, there have been eight attempts to pass an assisted suicide bill.
