Polling Shows RI Voters Want the EACA

Although politicians and judges across the country won’t stop attacking reproductive freedom, voters overwhelmingly want to protect and expand access to abortion in Rhode Island. This past election proved abortion is a winning issue — Rhode Islanders want to see the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act (EACA) become law.

A recent poll of Rhode Island voters, conducted by the national firm Impact Research, found that two-thirds support the EACA. We are in the majority — now, we call on our champions to take bold, immediate action to pass the EACA and help ensure equitable access to abortion.

Key Findings

7 in 10 voters — including 62% of Independents and 57% of Catholics — believe abortion should be legal in most cases.

Two-thirds of Rhode Island voters support passing the EACA (66% support, 28% oppose, 5% undecided)

69% of voters support each of the individual components of the policy:

Adding abortion coverage to our state’s Medicaid program
Eliminating bans on abortion coverage from state employees health insurance plans

72% agree that Rhode Islanders enrolled in Medicaid should receive the same coverage for abortion care as those using private health insurance.

The percentage of voters who strongly support the EACA (50%) is more than double those who strongly oppose (19%)

Without insurance coverage for abortion, many Rhode Islanders can’t access abortion care — even though the right is protected in state law.

The message is clear. Voters want to see policies that will eliminate barriers to abortion access in Rhode Island so everyone can get the care they need and deserve.

The findings highlighted above are based on the results of a combined telephone and text-to-web survey conducted by Impact Research from August 5-11, 2022, among N=603 registered voters in Rhode Island. Seventy-nine percent of all interviews were conducted on cell phones. The results are subject to a margin of error of ±4.0 percentage points. This polling was supported and funded by Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood of Southern New England.

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