Rep. Lauren H. Carson has made protecting maternal health care her top legislative priority this session, introducing two bills aimed at safeguarding birthing centers across Rhode Island amid ongoing discussions about the future of Newport Hospital’s Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center.
Carson, a Democrat representing Newport, submitted the legislation on the same day she introduced a resolution declaring Jan. 23 as Maternal Health Awareness Day in Rhode Island. The resolution was immediately approved by the House.
“Protecting maternal health and keeping Newport Hospital’s birthing center open are my highest legislative priorities this year,” Carson said.
The first bill would require any proposal to close, relocate or significantly reduce services at a birthing center to go through the Hospital Conversions Act process. Operators would need to submit an application to the Department of Health detailing finances, impacts on patients and staff, projected changes in maternal and newborn outcomes, and continuity plans for prenatal patients past 20 weeks’ gestation.
The legislation would also mandate a public hearing and independent expert review to evaluate sustainability and alternatives to closure.
Approval would be prohibited unless the Department of Health finds the birthing center cannot be reasonably sustained any other way and that the change would not worsen racial, economic or geographic disparities in maternal or newborn care.
The Stonor Drexel Birthing Center delivers more than 500 babies annually. Brown University Health is currently considering the facility’s future.
Carson’s second bill, the Rhode Island Maternal Health Improvement and Equity Act of 2026, would establish a permanent Maternal Health Advisory Board to oversee implementation of a statewide maternal health strategic plan. The legislation would appropriate $2.7 million annually beginning in fiscal year 2027.
The maternal health awareness resolution, cosponsored by House Majority Whip Katherine S. Kazarian and more than 25 other representatives, cites Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics indicating the United States has the highest maternal morbidity rate among wealthy nations, with more than 80 percent of those deaths preventable.