In early May, the Senate passed my bill, the Healthcare Provider Shield Act, designed to protect doctors and other healthcare providers from hostile legal action from outside of the state when they are providing legal, evidence-based care here in Rhode Island. This legislation received overwhelming support from major medical associations such as the Rhode Island Medical Society, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American College of Emergency Room Physicians and was highlighted as a key priority.
Why does this matter now? The fall of Roe changed everything. It emboldened extremists, who are using novel tactics to cross state lines and force their perspective into other states, threatening our healthcare providers and our healthcare infrastructure. The most notorious of these is Texas’s SB 8, which allows ANYONE to file a civil suit against anyone who is believed to have “abetted” abortion and get a cash award for doing so.
While numerous states have passed aggressive laws like SB 8 restricting and even criminalizing reproductive and gender-confirming healthcare, jurisdictions where this critical care is still legal, have implemented "shield laws" safeguarding in-state providers administering lawful care. Rhode Island's Healthcare Provider Shield bill mirrors protective measures recently enacted in Maine and Massachusetts to shield providers engaged in critical healthcare procedures.
This bill is fundamentally about access to health care. This bill means our healthcare providers can continue delivering high-quality, standard-of-care healthcare, and RI law continues to govern healthcare practice and access in RI without hostile interference from other states.
I will continue to fight to protect comprehensive, safe, evidence-based healthcare access for all. Click here to read more from the Boston Globe.
