Requires hospital emergency rooms and free-standing emergency care facilities to offer and provide pregnancy prevention medication to victims of sexual assault.

Plain-English Summary

This bill would require hospital emergency rooms and freestanding emergency care facilities in Rhode Island to offer pregnancy prevention medication to patients who come in reporting that they have been sexually assaulted. Under this proposal, these medical facilities would not just be allowed to provide this medication — they would be legally required to both offer it and make it available to victims who want it.

The bill primarily affects two groups of people: sexual assault survivors seeking emergency medical care, and the healthcare facilities that treat them. For survivors, it would mean that any time they visit an emergency room or freestanding emergency care center after an assault, staff must inform them that pregnancy prevention medication is an option and provide it upon request. For hospitals and emergency care facilities, it creates a new legal obligation to have this medication on hand and to follow this offering protocol as part of their standard care for sexual assault patients.

Currently, Rhode Island healthcare facilities may have varying policies on whether and how they offer this type of medication to assault survivors. This bill would create a consistent, statewide standard that applies equally across all qualifying emergency care settings. The bill has been introduced and referred to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, where it is scheduled for a hearing in April 2026.