PROVIDENCE – As Gov. Daniel J. McKee faces mounting pressure to expand state insurance coverage for abortion, gubernatorial candidate and Secretary of State Nellie M. Gorbea on Tuesday called for the governor to reconvene the General Assembly to adopt the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act.
The legislation, which advocates have upheld with a renewed urgency since the lead-up to the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, would extend abortion coverage to Rhode Island residents on Medicaid and state health insurance plans.
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Members of the nonprofit the Womxn Project had previously called on McKee to refuse to sign the fiscal 2023 budget without adding an amendment to include the act, and held a protest as McKee signed the budget, sans the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act, in June.
Almost 40 organizations, including the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island and the ACLU of Rhode Island, have joined the Womxn Project in this demand.
But McKee’s response to advocates’ demands, including a letter sent to the governor last week, has been “crickets,” Gorbea said.
McKee’s office said that the governor “continues to be in full support of the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act,” but does not have the legal authority to sign an executive order.
“State law expressly prohibits the state from procuring insurance plans that provide coverage for induced abortions,” said McKee spokesperson Matt Sheaff. “This express prohibition cannot be reversed by EO; the General Assembly must pass a law reversing it.”
Gorbea declined to say whether she believes McKee has the legal ability to enact the legislation through an executive order, but said that the governor has “the power to negotiate and to lead,” and to call back the General Assembly for further action.
“There’s not a cookie-cutter approach” to passing the legislation, Gorbea said when questioned on the process McKee must follow.
A spokesperson for McKee said the governor is “in active conversations with the General Assembly regarding taking up this bill as one of its first actions when they come back into session, whether that be in the fall or in January.”
But Gorbea said that McKee “has shown zero enthusiasm or leadership” toward protecting abortion or passing the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act, and called on other gubernatorial candidates to urge McKee to take action.
Gorbea was joined by Rep. Karen Alzate, D-Pawtucket, and Dr. Pablo Rodriguez, the former medical director of Planned Parenthood of Rhode Island. According to the organization, one in four residents could be impacted by the state’s coverage gap.
“A right that cannot be exercised because you can’t afford it is not a right,” Gorbea said.
In response to Gorbea’s remarks, McKee’s campaign said that the current Secretary of State was “trying to grab headlines in the heat of a political campaign.
“For Gov. McKee, women’s reproductive rights is not about politics or grandstanding, it’s about protecting women and their health care decisions,” said campaign spokesperson Alana O’Hare. “While he’s governor, those rights will always be protected.”
O’Hare also said that McKee “was proud to sign an executive order further enshrining reproductive rights in Rhode Island,” referring to an order McKee enacted earlier this month that provides legal protections for individuals who come to Rhode Island seeking an abortion.
(SUBS 14th paragraph to clarify comment is from McKee’s campaign; minor edits.)
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
