Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration has rejected proposals that would have allowed Connecticut to stockpile mifepristone, a drug used to end pregnancies, according to a state legislator. A handful of states, including Massachusetts and New Jersey, have either begun — or intend to begin — stockpiling mifepristone to facilitate access to the drug in the wake of threats to curb its availability. Connecticut had considered doing the same, but ultimately, the Lamont administration decided against it because of concerns about cost, Rep. Jillian Gilchrest, D-West Hartford, said at the State Capitol Thursday. “There were calls from the governor’s office and others in this building to stockpile mifepristone, and when presented with two viable options, we were met with a hesitation to put the money up,” said Gilchrest, who was spearheading the efforts and serves as co-chair of the Human Services Committee.  The two options, presented to the governor’s staff in early December, included a plan to have UConn Health stockpile the drug, which would have cost roughly $1.2 million, and another to have Planned Parenthood do so, which would have cost around $850,000, according to Gilchrest. The price tag for the Planned Parenthood option was lower because the organization purchases mifepristone at a reduced rate and already has a purchasing process in place, Gilchrest said. The governor’s office confirmed Thursday that the state has no plans to amass and store the drug. “The Governor has a strong record of protecting and strengthening access to reproductive healthcare in Connecticut,” Julia Bergman, a spokesperson for the governor, wrote in an email. “We’ve consulted family planning advocacy organizations and healthcare providers. The state does not currently have any plans to stockpile mifepristone.” Bergman added that the state will “continue to respond to” the needs of and “partner with” family planning advocacy organizations and health care providers.  Mifepristone is taken along with another drug, misoprostol, to end a pregnancy. The combined treatment is known as the “abortion pill” or medication abortion. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration first approved mifepristone in 2000. Data from a 2023 study found that medication abortion is used in well over half of abortions in the United States, with the numbers increasing since 2020. In 2021, there were 9,562 abortions performed in Connecticut. Of those, nearly 64% were medication abortion using mifepristone. Following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in November, Connecticut Senate Democratic leadership sent a letter to Lamont urging him to work with the legislature to prepare for the incoming administration and praising him for action he’d already taken, including a plan to stockpile mifepristone. “We appreciate the efforts of your administration, the Department of Public Health, UConn, legislators, and others who are currently developing a plan to stockpile doses of mifepristone. States such as Massachusetts, Washington, and New York have already taken similar actions, and we are pleased that Connecticut plans to follow their lead,” Sen. Martin Looney, D-New Haven, and Representative Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, wrote in the letter. A spokesperson for Sen. Looney and Rep. Duff did not respond to requests for comment Thursday. Several states, including Massachusetts, began stockpiling the drug after a federal court ruling in Texas blocked the FDA’s approval of mifepristone in April 2023. Last June, the Supreme Court dismissed that case based on legal standing, preserving access for now. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced Tuesday that the state would join others and begin stockpiling the drug ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday.  Stockpiling mifepristone would help to guard against an effort outlined in Project 2025, the conservative governing plan developed by the Heritage Foundation with assistance from many officials connected to Trump’s first term. The plan makes calls to invoke the 150-year-old federal Comstock Act in order to prosecute providers who send mifepristone by mail. Project 2025 also proposes revoking FDA approval of the drug.  “I am disappointed that at this point in time, we have yet to do anything to stockpile mifepristone in the case of a change to the Comstock Act,” Gilchrest said. Connecticut is generally considered a “safe haven” for reproductive rights, with some of the strongest protections around the country.  Legislation passed in 2022 made Connecticut a legal “safe harbor” for those who travel here from another state to receive an abortion and for the clinicians who perform them. It also expanded the type of providers who can perform first-trimester abortions to include nurse midwives, advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants. In 2023, lawmakers passed a bill protecting medical providers in Connecticut who face disciplinary action in other states for performing abortions. On Thursday, at the recommendation of the governor, the Appropriations and Human Services Committees approved an additional $500,000 in federal funding for Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, under what’s known as the Social Services Block Grant, to help support the increased demand for services. The funds will go towards annual exams, cancer screenings, birth control and other family planning services.  Planned Parenthood of Southern New England president Amanda Skinner said in the two weeks following the November 5th election the organization saw a 39% increase in its number of weekly average appointments for “long-acting reversible contraceptives.” “People in Connecticut are scared about what this means for their ability to get the care they need,” Skinner stated. However, because the block grant funding comes from the federal government, it cannot go towards abortion-related services, which includes stockpiling mifepristone.  Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, co-chair of the Appropriations Committee, said there could be legislative proposals this year seeking to allocate funds towards stockpiling the drug. But she said she questions their chances of success if they were to make it to her committee’s desk. “I’m not certain where we would be on that,” Osten said. “We have a lot of asks and we are not putting any one thing in front of any other thing.”