“We need leadership who is willing to use their power to protect the rights of women and families in Rhode Island,”
By Steve Ahlquist in UpRiseRI
“I am tired of hearing excuses from the governor on why this
legislation isn’t getting passed,” said Secretary Gorbea. “We need leadership
who is willing to use their power to protect the rights of women and families
in Rhode Island.”
Last week, over twenty advocacy groups pressed Governor McKee
to sign an
executive order securing medical coverage for abortion
procedures for all Rhode Islanders. Governor McKee failed to take action,
saying he has no legal authority to do so by executive order.
It is estimated that as many as one in three potentially
pregnant Rhode Islanders are being denied abortion coverage in their healthcare
plans due to a law denying such coverage in both state health insurance
coverage and Medicare.
“Access to abortion should not be determined by your employment or income,” said State Representative Karen Alzate. “We must make it possible for Rhode Islanders to utilize their health insurance to cover the costs of abortion and other reproductive health care.”
House leadership, including Speaker Joseph Shekarchi,
Majority Leader Christopher Blazejewski and Whip Katherine
Kazarian, ignored members of the House who pushed for passage of the EACA in
the final days of the last legislative session, despite having full knowledge
of the United States Supreme Court decision that was released the day
after the session ended that overturned Roe v Wade.
House leaders have since floated the idea of a special session
to pass the EACA, but Senate President Dominick Ruggerio has stated
that he has no interest in a special session this September to revisit the
issue.
“Abortion is healthcare– and it should be covered,” said Dr.
Pablo Rodriguez, an OBGYN who led Planned Parenthood Rhode Island for
many years. “Governors are the last lines of defense in the fight to protect
abortion access – and Nellie Gorbea is the only candidate for governor we can
trust to protect a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions.”
Secretary Gorbea, who is endorsed by EMILY’s List, called on fellow Democratic
candidates running for governor to commit to fully funding the Equality in
Abortion Coverage Act. Other Democratic candidates for Governor,
including Luis Daniel Muñoz, Matt Brown and Helena Foulkes and
have also called for the passage of the EACA. Governor McKee says he supports
the measure, but did not included it in his proposed 2022 state budget.
Gorbea has come under some criticism for supporting anti-abortion candidates, such as former Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello, who for many years used his position to block meaningful progress on reproductive healthcare. See: Protecting abortion rights is a fight, not a political game by Nina Wolff Landau
