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4/23/2026
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Sen. Euer bill would protect access to maternal health care in Newport and beyond
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STATE HOUSE — Sen. Dawn Euer has introduced legislation that would not only protect Newport’s Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center from potential closure, but would provide protection for birthing centers across Rhode Island.
“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. Newport Hospital doesn’t just serve the Bellevue Avenue mansions. Newport is a vibrant and diverse community with one of the highest percentages of low-income housing in the state and everyone here relies on the hospital and its birthing center, without which they would have to travel at least 40 minutes and cross multiple bridges,” said Senator Euer (D-Dist. 13, Newport, Jamestown). “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. Our health care is an essential resource that cannot be left to the opaque financial whims of large corporations.”
Senator Euer’s bill (2026-S 2380) would prohibit the closure or significant reduction of services of a birthing center without notice, application, financial disclosure, a public hearing and Department of Health approval.
Rep. Lauren H. Carson (D-Dist. 75, Newport) has introduced companion legislation (2026-H 7272) in the House.
The Coalition for Newport Hospital Birthing Center, the community group formed to fight for the continued operation of the birthing center, rallied at the State House Thursday, April 9, to advocate for increased support for maternal care on Aquidneck Island and across Rhode Island.
At the event, the coalition released a report entitled “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 found that the birthing center provides vital in-hospital maternity care for women on and around Aquidneck Island, serves a population more than sufficient to sustain it and contributes substantially to Newport County’s economic health.
“While Brown University Health’s announcement that they will keep the Birthing Center open represents an important step forward, questions remain about Brown’s specific plan to ensure the longevity and sustainability of the Birthing Center. 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,” said Cassie Voll, chair of the Coalition for Newport Hospital Birthing Center and co-founder of Moms Over Margins.
Brown University Health has agreed to keep the birthing center open, contingent on $4.9 million annually in state and philanthropic funding. For Senator Euer, this victory does not diminish the need for increased regulation surrounding the closure of this or other birthing centers in Rhode Island.
“Reducing access at any hospital in Rhode Island has ripple effects across the state. I’ve talked with nurses at the birthing center at Women & Infants, and they were emphatic that they could not handle the increase in patients and births that would result from closing the birthing center at Newport. 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,” said Senator Euer.
For more information, contact:
Tristan Grau, Publicist
State House Room B20
Providence, RI 02903
401.222.4935
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