Planned Parenthood Votes! Rhode Island Calls for Immediate Passage of the "Reproductive Health Care Act of 2019"

PPV!RI says to stop the delays, it is time to pass the Reproductive Health Care Act

Statement by Amanda Skinner, President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Votes! Rhode Island

(Providence, RI) – “As the vile attacks on reproductive rights escalate across the nation, Rhode Island is poised to set an example by protecting a person’s right to control their own body and their own future.

“It has been over two months since the House passed the Reproductive Privacy Act (H5125A) and the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the Reproductive Health Care Act. In that time, President Trump has doubled-down on his attacks on women’s health care using malicious lies aimed at manipulating people’s emotions and many states have passed laws clearly designed to eliminate access to abortion.

“Just last week, the Republican Governor of Georgia signed a bill banning abortion as early as six weeks, before many women even know they are pregnant and leaving women who have miscarriages open to prosecution. This is part of a cruel coordinated effort for states to pass laws that will go to Trump’s Supreme Court and provide the opportunity to reverse four decades of precedent protecting the fundamental right to abortion.

“On behalf of our over 9,000 Rhode Island patients, our dedicated staff and our thousands of activists and donors, Planned Parenthood Votes! RI calls on the Rhode Island Senate, and members of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, to pass the Reproductive Health Care Act (S 152A), without amendments and without delay.

“The Rhode Island Senate is made up of 33 Democrats out of 38 total seats, which means over 83% of the decision makers are Democrats. The Democratic Party stands for reproductive freedom, and we fully expect the Senate leadership to fight for the values of the party they lead. The platform of the Rhode Island Democratic Party says, ‘As Democrats, we stand behind the right of every woman to make reproductive medical decisions about her own body in consultation with her doctor, without governmental prohibitions or burdensome restrictions, consistent with Roe v. Wade. We view a woman's right to choose as a private matter, which is a fundamental liberty protected by the United States Constitution. Therefore, we will fight to protect a woman’s right and a family’s right to seek medical care wherever they wish, regardless of ability to pay, and we support laws designed to protect that right.’

“We thank Senator Gayle Goldin for her leadership in protecting safe, legal abortion. We applaud Senate President Ruggerio and his leadership team for bringing this bill to a vote in the Judiciary Committee; and we expect that a Senate overwhelmingly controlled by Democrats will make history by passing the Reproductive Health Care Act, without amendments and without delay.”