By Steve Ahlquist | January 22, 2020 ||| On the 47th anniversary of the landmark Roe v Wade decision protecting the right to choose an abortion, Senator Bridget Valverde (District 35, North Kingstown, Narragansett) and Representative Liana Cassar (Democrat, District 66, Barrington, East Providence) on Wednesday announced the “Equity in Abortion Coverage Act,” legislation that will lift the ban on abortion coverage for state employee health plans and ensure that abortion care is covered by state Medicaid.The law was passed by the Rhode Island General Assembly in 1981, along with other bills limiting access to abortion. The laws, said the ACLU of Rhode Island at the time, reflected “a callousness by most members of the General Assembly toward their oath of office to uphold the Constitution, and a blatant disregard of the health and safety of women in Rhode Island who have become the pawns in a shameless political game.”
