Abortion care is essential care. Rhode Island should lift restrictions on public funding for abortion care.

Rhode Island law bans residents from accessing abortion care through state insurance and Medicaid programming. The Equality in Abortion Coverage Age (HB 7442) would end these restrictions, advancing equal access to this vital care.

On May 19, 2022, GLAD submitted testimony in support of the bill.

Rhode Island’s current prohibition on the use of Medicaid and state insurance funds for abortion healthcare causes harm and presents a significant barrier to LGBTQ people’s bodily autonomy, health, and well-being. As it stands, existing Rhode Island law prohibits Rhode Islanders from seeking vital abortion healthcare through state insurance and Medicaid programming, placing Rhode Island behind neighboring states such as Connecticut and Massachusetts who already ensure this healthcare coverage for Medicaid covered populations.

H 7442 represents an important step in ensuring access to reproductive health care for all Rhode Islanders, including LGBTQ people, by providing for Medicaid coverage of abortion and repealing the abortion coverage exclusion from state employee insurance plans.

Read the full testimony.