Rhode Island General Laws

R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17-11 (2026)

Abortion and sterilization — Protection for nonparticipation — Procedure

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section RI-LEGwebserver.rilegislature.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

A physician or any other person who is a member of or associated with the medical staff of a health care facility or any employee of a health care facility in which an abortion or any sterilization procedure is scheduled, and who shall state in writing an objection to the abortion or sterilization procedure on moral or religious grounds, shall not be required to participate in the medical procedures which result in the abortion or sterilization, and the refusal of the person to participate in the medical procedures shall not form the basis for any claim of damages on account of the refusal or for any disciplinary or recriminatory action against the person.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases, 1988–1988 · leading case: Gray by Gray v. Romeo, 697 F. Supp. 580 (D.R.I. 1988).
Gray by Gray v. Romeo, 697 F. Supp. 580 (D.R.I. 1988). · cites it 2× “The Defendants argue that the principle underlying R.I.Gen.Laws § 23-17-11 (1985), which states that a person associated with a health care facility may refuse on moral or religious grounds to participate in an abortion or sterilization procedure, should apply in this situation.”
Gray ex rel. Gray v. Romeo, 697 F. Supp. 580 (D.R.I. 1988). · cites it 2× “The Defendants argue that the principle underlying R.I.Gen.Laws § 23-17-11 (1985), which states that a person associated with a health care facility may refuse on moral or religious grounds to participate in an abortion or sterilization procedure, should apply in this situation.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.