It is often said that a budget is a statement of priorities. It shows what matters to people. Women should matter. Families should matter.  Access to quality medical care should matter – and that includes abortion. 

It is more important than ever that we do all we can to ensure each of us makes a living wage, has a safe place to live and that everyone has access to the full-spectrum of health care they need, including abortion.

The ability to get an abortion should not be limited by the type of insurance you use or how much money you have in the bank.  We are calling on Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee to show bold leadership by eliminating abortion coverage restrictions from the Rhode Island state budget for Fiscal Year 2022. 

This would not only ensure that our state budget reflects our shared values around health care access and reproductive rights, but studies have also shown that providing coverage for abortion can actually result in savings for insurance programs and increased financial stabilities in situations where people are not prepared to add to their families and are not forced to forego paying for things like rent or groceries because they are denied insurance coverage for an abortion. 

The pandemic exposed the long-standing structural racism and inequities in our healthcare system.  We know that same systemic racism is at the core of abortion coverage bans like the federal Hyde amendment and state laws denying coverage.  These bans disproportionately impact the same communities as the pandemic.

Join us in urging our state leaders to eliminate barriers to the care we need. Getting rid of bans on heath coverage for abortion is an important start.