Connecticut

Connecticut, the Constitution State, joined the United States on January 9, 1788, and was the fifth state in the union. From the beginning, Connecticut enjoyed a vast measure of political independence, proclaiming in its Fundamental Orders of 1639 a democratic principle of government based on the will of the people.

The fertility rate of white women rapidly declined during the 19th century, partly as the result of using birth control and abortion to control family size. A woman's opportunity to have an abortion was illegal in the states during the latter part of the 19th century. Abortions, which increased markedly in the 1850s and 1860s, especially among middle-class white women, had been legal until the fetus quickened, or moved inside the uterus. Women who had abortions could be held criminally liable.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a huge step forward for women's rights, and prohibited employment discrimination based on sex, allowing women the ability to challenge the actions of employers or potential employers.

Currently, health insurance plans have to pay for at least 48 hours of inpatient care for women and newborn infants. Women who work for private employers are entitled to a total of 16 work weeks of unpaid leave during any 24-month period for the birth of a child. Those women are required to have been employed for one year and worked 1,000 hours during that year before their first day of leave. Permanent employees of the State of Connecticut are entitled to 24 weeks of unpaid leave in any 24-month period. An employer is prohibited from refusing to grant a “reasonable leave of absence for disability due to her pregnancy” or from terminating a woman's job due to her pregnancy. An employer must make a reasonable effort to provide a room or other location where a mother can breastfeed in private.

A woman is entitled to file for divorce. Connecticut is a “no fault” state, which means neither party has to prove the other was at fault in causing the marriage to break down.

There are 68,640 women of childbearing age that become pregnant each year in Connecticut. Sixty-three percent of these pregnancies result in live births, and 23 percent result in abortions; the remainder end in miscarriage. Connecticut's teenage pregnancy rate is ranked the 33rd highest of any state in the United States, with 7,420 teenage pregnancies every year.

In 1965, the U.S. Supreme Court's Griswold v. Connecticut ruling struck down state laws barring contraceptive use by married couples. There are 432,000 women in Connecticut who are candidates for birth control. Of these, 165,960 women have incomes below the poverty level or are sexually active teenagers. There are 56 publicly funded family planning clinics that provide contraceptive services; the federal and state governments spent $20,788,000 on contraceptive services and supplies in 2001. Connecticut teenagers are not required to consult with their parents prior to obtaining prescription contraceptives. Women with health insurance can get coverage for the cost of prescription contraceptives.

Currently, abortions are legal in Connecticut. Once a fetus is considered viable, abortions are only allowed to preserve a woman's life or health. Most health insurance policies will pay for the cost of having a surgical or medical abortion. A minor can consent to an abortion without notifying or obtaining permission from their parents. However, if the minor is under 16, a licensed provider has to discuss whether to involve the parents.

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