On June 9, 2025, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed into law Public Act No. 25-28, “An Act Concerning Access to Reproductive Health Care” (the Act). The Act codifies under Connecticut state law the ability of minors to access reproductive health care services without the need to obtain parental consent, including services related to pregnancy and pregnancy prevention. While minors were previously not explicitly prohibited from receiving such services without parental permission, state law was silent on the issue. The Act now provides an assurance to minors and to health care providers that minor patients in Connecticut are permitted to consent to certain reproductive health care services without the involvement of a parent or guardian.
The Act is effective as of its passage, and includes the following specific provisions:
Minor Consent for Reproductive Health Care
Individuals under the age of 18 in Connecticut may now give consent for services, examination, or treatment related to pregnancy and pregnancy prevention without the consent or notification of the minor’s parent or guardian. The services that the Act allows a minor to consent to without parental/guardian consent or notification are all services, examinations, or treatment related to pregnancy and pregnancy prevention, which include but are not limited to contraceptive counseling and services, prenatal care, and appropriate care and pain management during labor and delivery (including without limitation epidural administration). However, the Act expressly carves out and does not include an allowance for a minor to consent to sterilization thereunder.
Privacy Protections
The Act provides that if a minor patient consents to contraceptive or pregnancy-related care, physicians and other health care providers are prohibited from sharing information about such services with the minor’s parent or guardian without the minor patient’s express consent, including by sending a bill for the services to the parent or guardian. This privacy protection under the Act aligns with federal privacy regulations under HIPAA, which stipulate that where a minor patient is permitted by state law to consent to a health care service, health information related to such service cannot be disclosed to the minor’s parent or guardian without the patient’s authorization.
Provider Reporting Obligations Remain
The Act expressly states that it does not affect a physician’s or other health care provider’s reporting obligations under state law, such as mandatory reporting to the Connecticut Departments of Public Health or Children and Families.
No Parental Liability for Cost of Services
The Act further states that where a minor patient consents to reproductive health care under the Act, and the minor’s parent or guardian is not informed of the provision of such care, the parent or guardian will not be liable for the costs of such care.
Takeaways
The Act is likely to provide welcome clarity for health care providers and facilities in the state, as well as for minor patients, as to when minors are permitted to consent to treatment and services related to reproductive health care.
The Act also expands the circumstances recognized under Connecticut law in which a minor patient may consent to the receipt of certain treatment or services, which prior to the Act’s passage included without limitation treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, alcohol and drug treatment, HIV testing and HIV/AIDs treatment, abortion and abortion counseling, and outpatient mental health treatment if certain criteria are met.