Sen. Dawn Euer has introduced legislation that would require state oversight of any proposed closure or reduction in services at a birthing center in Rhode Island, a response to the yearlong fight over the future of Newport Hospital’s Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center.
The bill, 2026-S 2380, would place birthing center closures under the Hospital Conversions Act, requiring advance notice, a formal application, financial disclosure, a public hearing and approval from the state Department of Health before services could be reduced or eliminated. Rep. Lauren H. Carson, D-Newport, has introduced a companion measure, 2026-H 7272, in the House.
Euer, D-Newport, said the bill grew out of the community response that began when rumors surfaced about a year ago that Brown University Health was weighing a shutdown of the Newport facility.
“When the first rumors started about a year ago that Brown Health was considering closing the birthing center at Newport Hospital, the Aquidneck Island community quickly came together to advocate for this amazing resource in our back yard,” Euer said in a statement. She noted that Newport has one of the highest percentages of low-income housing in the state and that closure would force patients to travel at least 40 minutes and cross multiple bridges to reach another labor and delivery unit.
“This bill recognizes the importance of access to quality care in Newport and across Rhode Island by putting the closure of birthing centers under the purview of the existing Hospital Conversions Act,” Euer said. “Our health care is an essential resource that cannot be left to the opaque financial whims of large corporations.”
The legislation follows months of public pressure that began in July 2025, when Brown Health first signaled it was considering cuts to the Newport unit. The Newport City Council unanimously passed a resolution urging the center remain open, and community rallies drew hundreds of supporters, including House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi.
Brown Health announced on April 3 that the 10-suite birthing center would remain open, but said sustaining it would require an estimated $4.9 million a year in additional state and philanthropic funding.
On April 9, the Coalition for Newport Hospital Birthing Center rallied at the State House and released a white paper titled “Protecting the Future of Maternity Care in Newport County: How the Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center is Critical to the Health of the Aquidneck Island and East Bay Communities.” The report identified the Newport unit as the third-busiest labor and delivery unit in Rhode Island, delivering close to 500 babies a year, and said it is the only maternity unit in the state with a straight-A rating from the Leapfrog Group. The center also holds a “Baby-Friendly” designation from the World Health Organization and UNICEF.
Cassie Voll, chair of the coalition and co-founder of Moms Over Margins, said Brown Health’s announcement was “an important step forward” but left unanswered questions.
“Questions remain about Brown’s specific plan to ensure the longevity and sustainability of the Birthing Center,” Voll said. “We hope that this report serves as the beginning of an open and transparent dialogue with the leadership at Brown University Health and Newport Hospital about not just sustained investment in the Birthing Center, but a robust, long-term strategy that meaningfully incorporates community feedback in decision-making about this vital regional resource.”
Euer said that even with Brown Health’s commitment to keep the unit open, the case for stronger state oversight has not changed. She pointed to conversations with nurses at Women & Infants Hospital in Providence, which already handles roughly 80% of births statewide.
“They were emphatic that they could not handle the increase in patients and births that would result from closing the birthing center at Newport,” Euer said. “Our state health care system is under tremendous strain already and its continued health is dependent on the survival of all its components. This bill recognizes this reality by instituting a clear, enforceable mechanism to protect these essential providers of quality maternal care.”
Neither S 2380 nor H 7272 has advanced to a floor vote.
