Rhode Island has recently made significant strides in ensuring that people within its borders have the right to make decisions about their health care, particularly in relation to reproductive and gender-affirming care. While there are some legal restrictions, the state is generally viewed as supportive. However, local advocacy groups warn that if federal restrictions are enacted, access to these types of care in Rhode Island could be dramatically reduced or eliminated. In response, these groups prepare to support community members through potential challenges.
In 2019, the state passed the Reproductive Privacy Act (RPA), which established the legal right to abortion in Rhode Island. In 2023, the state expanded access to abortion by passing the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act (EACA), which removed the abortion coverage exclusion for people enrolled in Medicaid or covered by state-sponsored health insurance. Local nonprofit The Womxn Project (TWP) and its sibling organization, The Womxn Project Education Fund (TWPEF), were instrumental in helping these become law. In 2024, legislators passed a bill protecting individuals seeking transgender and reproductive care, as well as their healthcare providers, from being prosecuted by states where such care is restricted.
The Rhode Island Abortion Fund (RIAF), operating since 1989, provides financial support for abortion and contraceptive care, with state residency being the only requirement to seek aid. These funds are distributed through block grants or direct patient support, and grants can be requested online. In 2024, RIAF provided $80,000 to Rhode Islanders seeking care (for more information and a list of partner providers, visit RIAbortionFund.org).
Haley Cedarholm, a RIAF board member, says the organization does not yet know what will happen to abortion funds if a federal abortion ban is enacted. “No matter what happens,” she says, “we will continue to be here for our community and do what we can to support its members.”
In the meantime, RIAF is expanding its fundraising efforts, preparing for its spring fundraiser, and increasing its visibility in the community so that those who need support can find the organization. “We’re also strengthening our relationships with regional and national funds and learning from those operating in abortion-restricted states,” Cedarholm adds.
While RIAF prepares for challenges, they’re already seeing the impact of surrounding states with more restrictive abortion laws. “Although we don’t fund abortions for people from other states, we’re seeing individuals from more restrictive areas come to Rhode Island and New England for care,” Cedarholm says. “We want people in banned states to have access to care, but this trend is concerning because Rhode Island already has limited providers.”
Jocelyn Foye, executive director of TWP, says that the lack of youth access to abortion in Rhode Island causes the opposite problem for young people. “Until you’re 18, you need permission from a parent or legal guardian, or a judge needs to waive the requirement,” Foye says. “As a result, many young people seeking abortion access go out of state to receive care.”
TWP and TWPEF have now expanded their focus from reproductive care into other aspects of bodily autonomy. “Bodily autonomy is a huge intersectional issue that involves basic human rights that allow people to live safely and with dignity,” Foye explains. “It includes everything from food security to housing, childcare, equal pay, and immigration rights, but our organization has consolidated its expertise and activism into reproductive rights and gender-affirming care.”
Both organizations are preparing for a potential federal abortion ban that could override state laws. In anticipation, some US states are already stockpiling mifepristone and misoprostol, medications used in abortion, and Rhode Island advocates are considering urging the governor to do the same. However, Foye points out that one major challenge for Rhode Island is its reliance on federal funding. “The federal government could impose certain requirements on Rhode Island if we want to receive that funding,” Foye says. “If the federal government classifies mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled substances, a stockpile could be regulated.”
Another important aspect of reproductive rights, according to TWP and TWPEF, is gender-affirming care, and part of the organizations’ activism surrounds children’s rights. “Currently, the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) policy says that if a child goes by a different name or gender at school than what’s on their birth certificate, the school is required to not tell that child’s parents,” Foye says. “We’ve been seeing far-right activists attending school committee meetings to speak out against RIDE’s policy and advocate for parental rights.”
In Rhode Island, 16-year-olds can choose to receive a COVID-19 vaccine without parental consent. “In this case, the state said that young people can choose for themselves what’s best for their body,” Foye says. “In a perfect world, kids and their caregivers should be able to have hard conversations about bodily autonomy, but parents’ worldviews don’t always align with that of their kids. We’re arguing that young people should be able to determine what’s best for their body and not be outed by their school, which could endanger them in many ways.”
TWP and TWPEF argue that what happens at these school committee meetings is important because change happens at the local level. To that end, during the 2024 election, TWPEF launched the Bodily Freedom Forever Index, which helped voters understand local candidates’ feelings on bodily autonomy. A group of volunteers contacted candidates and mined their public statements to create a reliable body of research for voters to access. “Education is key right now,” Foye says.
TWPEF also partnered with other advocacy groups, including Youth Pride, Inc. Providence Public Library, and Thundermist Health Center to develop a program called Empowered to Advocate, which provided folks with education on how Rhode Island’s state and local government works and how community members can become part of the process.
According to Ryan Fontaine, the trans health education and policy specialist at Thundermist, providing empowering education is a vital part of direct patient care. Thundermist, a federally qualified community health center that strives to remove barriers to high-quality care, has the first and largest trans health program in Rhode Island, and Fontaine’s role in that program is three-fold. She advocates for inclusive policy that supports the fair and equal treatment of trans, nonbinary, and gender-diverse people; she provides cultural competency training to medical providers who work with the gender-diverse community; and she develops community programming, like the Empowered to Advocate series.
“In Rhode Island, there have been attempts to enact policies that would be damaging to trans individuals by excluding them from public life and limiting their access to care,” says Fontaine. “Fortunately there hasn’t been a lot of widespread support to pass those policies, but even the attempt can be harmful.”
On Inauguration Day, President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order that, in part, recognizes only two sexes, defined by reproductive function, and says that federal funding cannot be used to “promote gender ideology.” A move like this was anticipated by many organizations in the broader LGBTQ+ community.
“At the federal level, the primary concerns surround access to care,” Fontaine says. But even in the face of this executive order, she exercises caution. “This executive order is scary and significant, but I don’t want to cause alarm. Any action will have to work its way through layers of process in federal agencies to have any effect. That could take months or years, and then it would have to survive the legal challenges from people and organizations ready to oppose discriminatory actions.”
“The recourse against Trump is going to come from the local level,” says Foye, who believes Rhode Island remains a progressive state. “When we organize, people-power makes change.”
Through art and activism, the statewide non-profit organization is committed to dismantling systems of oppression and advancing bodily freedom policies. Follow @thewomxnprojecthq for advocacy updates, events, and opportunities to get involved. TheWomxnProject.org
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