Rhode Island advances law protecting doctors who provide abortions & gender-affirming care

doctor providing aftercare for abortion or gender affirming surgery protected by new law Rhode Island illuminated rainbow State House capitol building Providence

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Eleven years (to the day) after passing marriage equality, Rhode Island lawmakers took another notable step to protect LGBTQ+ health care.

The Rhode Island state Senate has passed a bill that would shield health care practitioners who provide abortions or gender-affirming care.

S 2262, known as the Healthcare Provider Shield Act, would prevent those licensed in the state from being prosecuted by other states where abortion or transgender health care are criminalized, including protecting them from having to provide documents or patient information even upon subpoena.

The Rhode Island Senate passed the bill Thursday in a 29 to 7 vote. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Dawn Euer, a Newport Democrat who introduced the legislation, said on the chamber floor that the the law would protect against "attacks" on health care.

“Since the fall of Roe v. Wade, we have seen an unprecedented level of attacks on health care providers, on reproductive rights, across the country,” she said, reports the Boston Globe. “A number of states have passed hostile actions to try to cross state boundaries and go after health care providers in other states.”

Rhode Island passed a law protecting the right to abortion in the state, the Reproductive Privacy Act, in 2019 in anticipation of a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court that would repeal protections surrounding the vital care. The Senate's vote on the Healthcare Provider Shield Act came exactly eleven years after the state legislature voted to enact marriage equality.