Rhode Island Rep. Lauren H. Carson is pushing new legislation aimed at strengthening maternal health care protections statewide, with a particular focus on Aquidneck Island and Newport Hospital’s birthing services.
On the same day she introduced a resolution declaring Jan. 23 as Maternal Health Awareness Day in Rhode Island, Carson filed two bills she says are designed to safeguard access to care and improve long-term maternal health outcomes.
“Protecting maternal health and keeping Newport Hospital’s birthing center open are my highest legislative priorities this year,” said Carson, a Democrat representing Newport. She called the Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center “a pivotal health care resource” for Aquidneck Island and the state.
One bill would require any proposal to close, move or significantly reduce services at a birthing center to undergo review under the state’s Hospital Conversions Act. Operators would have to submit detailed financial information and outline potential impacts on patients, staff and the community, including projected effects on maternal and newborn outcomes. The process would include a public hearing and independent expert review.
The Department of Health could not approve a closure or reduction unless it determines the center cannot be sustained through other means, that disparities would not worsen, and that safe access to birthing services would remain available.
Carson said the Stonor Drexel Birthing Center delivers more than 500 babies a year and provides emergency and other maternal care.
Her second bill, the Rhode Island Maternal Health Improvement and Equity Act of 2026, would create a permanent Maternal Health Advisory Board to oversee the state’s maternal health strategic plan. It also calls for a maternal health data and surveillance unit, workforce development programs and community-based grants. The measure includes $2.7 million in annual funding starting in fiscal 2027.
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