In response to the surge of new measures to restrict abortion access and in some cases imposing criminal penalties on those who perform them, lawmakers in Connecticut approved a bill that would expand the kinds of medical practitioners who can offer abortion services within the state and protect residents from facing penalties under other states’ anti-abortion laws.

Under the new bill, advanced practice registered nurses, nurse-midwives, and physician assistants would be permitted to conduct medication and aspiration abortions in Connecticut.

According to a recent report from The Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports reproductive rights, 33 abortion restrictions have been authorized in nine states in 2022 so far, and only 11 measures protecting abortion access have passed in seven states.

“This legislation takes action to protect our state from overreaching laws from others,” said Connecticut state Sen. Steve Cassano in a statement. “As other states pass increasingly restrictive bills, we are countering those bills by protecting residents and visitors alike from others seeking to persecute them.”

Under House Bill 5414, people or organizations in Connecticut who are being sued for receiving, performing, or otherwise helping abortions to take place in other states can countersue for damages and other costs.

The state Senate approved the bill on Friday last week once it passed the House of Representatives earlier in April. It now awaits the signature of Gov. Ned Lamont, who pledged he would sign the bill into law, according to the Hartford Courant.