Rhode Island's Abortion Law: What's Happening?

Abortion is legal in Rhode Island up to the point of fetal viability, which is considered to be 24 weeks. In 2019, the state's Senate and House of Representatives passed the Reproductive Privacy Act, which banned Rhode Island from restricting abortions before fetal viability or after it to preserve the pregnant individual's health or life. The Act also repealed bans on partial-birth abortions and repealed requirements for abortion providers to notify a husband before giving his wife an abortion. In 2022, an executive order was issued to protect those providing and obtaining reproductive health care services in Rhode Island from legal liability and professional sanctions from other states.

Abortion is legal in Rhode Island

The Reproductive Privacy Act bans Rhode Island from restricting an individual from "terminating their pregnancy prior to fetal viability or to preserve the health or life of the pregnant individual." The Act also repealed bans on partial-birth abortions and forbade medical professionals from being charged with felony assault for performing abortions. The Act also repealed requirements for abortion providers to notify a husband before giving his wife an abortion.

Rhode Island law generally prohibits post-viability abortions unless they are necessary to save the mother's life. The state requires that a parent, legal guardian, or judge consent to a minor's abortion.

In 2022, the governor of Rhode Island issued an executive order with interstate shield protections. This prohibits executive agencies from cooperating with out-of-state investigations and legal actions that arise from the provision of reproductive health care that is legal in Rhode Island. It also protects health care professionals providing abortions from out-of-state sanctions.

In July 2024, Rhode Island enacted statutory protections shielding providers, patients, and people who help others access abortion from professional licensure consequences and the reach of out-of-state investigations and legal actions, regardless of the patient's location.

The Reproductive Privacy Act

On June 19, 2019, Rhode Island's Senate and House of Representatives passed the Reproductive Privacy Act, with the House voting 45–29 and the Senate voting 21–17. The legislation was then signed by Governor Raimondo.

The Act was challenged in court by several individuals and an anti-abortion group, Servants of Christ for Life. They argued that they should have had the opportunity to vote against the abortion law in a referendum. Two of the plaintiffs also attempted to bring claims on behalf of their unborn children, stating that the law erased their legal rights. However, the Rhode Island Supreme Court rejected the lawsuit, ruling that there was no right to a referendum on the issue and that none of the adult plaintiffs had been harmed by the law, and therefore they had no standing to sue.

The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a landmark 1973 ruling that had decriminalized abortion nationwide. In the wake of this decision, abortion laws have once again become a state-level concern, with Rhode Island being no exception.

In Rhode Island, abortion is currently legal up to the point of fetal viability. This means that abortions can be performed until the fetus is considered viable, which is typically around 24 weeks. After fetal viability, abortions are only permitted if they are necessary to preserve the health or life of the pregnant individual.

The legal right to abortion in Rhode Island was codified into state law with the passage of the Reproductive Privacy Act on June 19, 2019. This legislation was signed by then-Governor Gina Raimondo and affirmed the state's commitment to protecting abortion rights. The Act specifically banned Rhode Island from restricting "an individual person from preventing, commencing, continuing, or terminating that individual's pregnancy prior to fetal viability" or after fetal viability "to preserve the health or life" of the pregnant individual.

In addition to protecting abortion access, the Reproductive Privacy Act also repealed several existing abortion restrictions. For example, it forbade state restrictions on contraceptives, repealed bans on certain abortion procedures, and removed requirements for abortion providers to notify a husband before providing an abortion to his wife. The Act also ensured that medical professionals could not be charged with felony assault for performing abortions.

Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, there were concerns about the future of abortion rights in Rhode Island. However, the state's highest court, the Rhode Island Supreme Court, upheld the Reproductive Privacy Act in May 2022. This decision reaffirmed the state's commitment to protecting abortion access, even as other states moved to restrict or prohibit abortions.

The governor of Rhode Island issued an executive order

In 2019, Rhode Island enacted a law to protect abortion rights and repealed various existing abortion restrictions. The state's highest court upheld this law in May 2022. However, in June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which returned to the states the power to regulate or prohibit abortion.

In response to this, the governor of Rhode Island, Daniel J. McKee, issued Executive Order 22-28 in July 2022. The order aimed to protect reproductive rights for Rhode Islanders and those providing and obtaining reproductive health care services in the state. The key provisions of the executive order are as follows:

• Non-Cooperation in Out-of-State Investigations and Proceedings: The order prohibits executive agencies and their employees from cooperating with or providing information to out-of-state investigations or proceedings that seek to impose civil or criminal liability on individuals or entities for providing or facilitating reproductive health care services that are legal in Rhode Island.
• Unavailability of Interstate Extradition: The governor's office will decline requests from other states for the arrest or surrender of individuals charged with criminal violations related to reproductive health care services if those acts would not constitute a criminal offense under Rhode Island law.
• Protection of Health Care and Other Professionals: The Rhode Island Department of Health is directed to work with boards of professional licensure to ensure that individuals providing or assisting in the provision of reproductive health care services are not disqualified from licensure or subject to discipline based on the laws or sanctions of other states, as long as the services provided are lawful and meet professional practice standards in Rhode Island.

These provisions of the executive order were later codified into statutory protections, further strengthening the state's commitment to protecting reproductive rights. The executive order and subsequent legislation ensure that Rhode Island residents and providers are protected from more restrictive laws and sanctions imposed by other states.

The state's highest court upheld abortion rights

On May 4, 2022, Rhode Island's highest court, the Rhode Island Supreme Court, upheld abortion rights by rejecting a lawsuit challenging the state's Reproductive Privacy Act. The lawsuit was filed by several individuals and the anti-abortion group Servants of Christ for Life. The law in question, signed in 2019 by then-Governor Gina Raimondo, effectively secures the abortion rights outlined in the US Supreme Court's landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade.

The plaintiffs in the case argued that they should have had the opportunity to vote against the abortion law in a referendum. Additionally, two of the plaintiffs sought to bring claims on behalf of their unborn children, contending that the law erased their legal rights. However, the state Supreme Court ruled that there was no right to a referendum on the matter and that none of the adult plaintiffs had been harmed by the law, meaning they lacked legal standing to sue.

Citing Roe v. Wade, the court determined that the unborn children of the previously pregnant plaintiffs were not considered "persons" with legal standing to bring claims. The court also found that these plaintiffs had not been harmed and, therefore, had no standing to sue. This decision aligns with the majority opinion in Rhode Island, where more than 70% of residents support a person's right to a safe and legal abortion.

The ruling by the Rhode Island Supreme Court to uphold the Reproductive Privacy Act is significant as it protects abortion rights within the state. The Act bans Rhode Island from restricting an individual's right to continue or terminate their pregnancy before fetal viability or after fetal viability to preserve the health or life of the pregnant individual. It also repeals bans on certain abortion procedures, protects medical professionals from being charged with felony assault for performing abortions, and removes requirements for abortion providers to notify a woman's husband before the procedure.

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