On May 18, 2023, Governor McKee signed the Equity in Abortion Coverage Act into law.


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

On May 9, 2023, GLAD submitted testimony in support of the bill:

Rhode Island’s current prohibition on the use of Medicaid and state insurance funds for abortion health care 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 health care through state insurance and Medicaid programming, placing Rhode Island behind other New England states such as Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont who already ensure coverage for Medicaid-covered populations.

S 32 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 our full testimony.