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The activists at Reproductive Equity Now (REN) have just shared their 2026 legislative priorities for Connecticut, which of course include "expanding access to reproductive and gender-affirming care."

According to a recent survey, half of Americans support the right for transgender adults to access gender affirming care. Even fewer (37%) support the right children who identify as transgender to obtain gender affirming care -- "care" which the Trump administration more accurately describes as "surgical and chemical mutilation."

Last week in a landmark medical malpractice case, a New York jury awarded $2 million to a 16-year-old detransitioner who suffered a double mastectomy after a psychologist and surgeon both allegedly promoted the girl's identification as trans, along with the surgery to remove her breasts.

It's the first successful legal challenge by a detransitioner, and it's expected to potentially open the floodgates to similar legal challenges. But it doesn't change the fact that the activists at REN want to safeguard "affirming health care for all patients."

Additionally, REN plans on pushing for legislation to mitigate the alleged "harm of religious refusals" by ensuring health care institutions in the state, including religiously affiliated hospitals, "do not prohibit providers from providing medically-accurate information regarding a patient’s health status, counseling, and referrals for care that may not align with an institution’s moral or religious beliefs."

It's also advocating to strengthen shield laws to protect providers "who may be willing to provide medication abortion via telehealth to out-of-state patients" and to protect the identity of doctors who send abortion pills to women in other states.

Plus, it stands in solidarity with advocacy partners to provide "equitable access to the full spectrum of reproductive health care for each and every person without barriers" including:

• Increasing family planning clinic Medicaid rates for abortion services;
• Ensuring all income eligible residents are able to access the health care coverage they need, regardless of immigration status; and
• Removing barriers to fertility care and assisted reproductive technologies for LGBTQ+ people and single individuals by updating the definition of ‘infertility’ in state statute; and expanding fertility coverage for the Connecticut state employees plan.

Reproductive Equity Now has been around since 1979, and has received funding over the years from Fidelity Investment Charitable Gift Fund ($182k in 2023), the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation ($150k in 2023), and Heather and Robert Keane Family Foundation ($100k in 2024), among others.

The organization celebrated the 2025 passage of a law that establishes statutory protections for children under the age of 18 to confidentially consent to contraceptive and pregnancy-related care without the consent or notification of the minor child's parent or guardian.

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