Work Began: 2020 | Signed Into Law: May 18, 2023
TWP dreamt up the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act as a solution to end decades-old financial barriers to abortion access in RI.
This act ensures Rhode Island's Medicaid and state employee insurance plans cover reproductive healthcare services. TWP worked hard for three years - all the while COVID shutdowns disrupted normal daily activities, and as Roe was overturned - to find bill sponsors and supporters. Despite these barriers, TWP created the "Campaign for Equality in Abortion Access" which was powered by 42 nonprofits across RI, who worked together to pass the legislation.
Women of color are overrepresented in low-wage jobs and are more likely to use the state Medicaid program, meaning that the state ban on Medicaid abortion coverage disproportionately affected them.
Black women have the highest unintended pregnancy rate of any racial or ethnic group, more than double that of non-Hispanic white women, due to barriers to contraception, preventative health care, and lack of access to timely and affordable reproductive healthcare services.
As of 2023, more than half of women of childbearing age enrolled in Medicaid have family incomes below the poverty level, with one-quarter having incomes below 50% of the poverty level. When insurance coverage is denied, low-income people are likely to spend a third, or more, of their monthly income on a healthcare procedure – or are forced to not pursue the procedure.
The Women’s Health and Education Fund (WHEF) has stated that the average cost of an abortion in RI is $600. There are many individuals and families who simply do not have any extra money available to cover unplanned medical procedures.
Research has shown that for a person struggling to get by, taking away benefits for abortion means they may have to forego paying for things like rent or groceries to afford the procedure. This choice put people’s health and well-being at risk, and pushes them further into poverty as they scramble to find the money for an abortion.
View the full press release from TWP for full details on the "Campaign for Equality in Abortion Access" group
We don’t want to live in a community where the money you have in the bank determines if you get to have an abortion when you need one."
Jocelyn Foye, Executive Director of The Womxn ProjectOfficial Statement from TWP:
Everyone should have access to the health services we need–regardless of our income or type of medical insurance we have–including affordable coverage for abortion. Public or private, health insurance should cover services that ensure health and care for our families.
In 2019, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed legislation to protect the right to abortion, via a bill called the Reproductive Privacy Act, or the RPA. While the RPA is essential for protecting abortion rights in our state, it did not ensure that every Rhode Islander has access to this procedure. Thanks to the passage of the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act, Rhode Island is one big step closer to ensuring every Rhode Islander has access to an abortion - an essential part of healthcare!
TWP orchestrated the creation of the "Campaign for Equality in Abortion Access" group, a multi-org coalition that utilized creative lobbying and community engagement to ensure the passage of the EACA. We engaged Rhode Islanders through informative Artivism projections, rallies and community events that increased public awareness, and support of, the EACA.