Democratic gubernatorial candidate Joe Ganim hopes to enshrine pro-choice protections in Connecticut’s constitution in order to guard against the possibility that a conservative Supreme Court might overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
Ganim, currently serving his second term as the mayor of Bridgeport, told reporters outside the Connecticut state house on Monday that the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the High Court will likely jeopardize abortion rights.
“As we stand here today, the threat is there,’’ Ganim said, according to the Hartford Courant. “We don’t know what could happen. I know [Justice Ruth Bader] Ginsburg said she’s going to stay on the court for five more years.’’
Amending Connecticut’s constitution requires the approval of both chambers of the state legislature as well as Connecticut voters, who would vote on a referendum should the amendment pass the state house.
Stipulating that the process may be years in the making, Ganim described it as a “a bold action, a bold step, one that you don’t take lightly.’’
“Whether it takes two years or three years, certainly, it’s worth the effort. . . . It could take two sessions of the General Assembly,’’ he added.
Ganim, who will face off in a Democratic primary on August 14, said that, provided he wins the general election in November, the amendment could be introduced as soon as January of next year. Should the proposal come to pass, Connecticut would become the tenth state to guarantee the right to abortion in its constitution.