Planned Parenthood Votes! Rhode Island Celebrates Senate Passage of the “Reproductive Privacy Act of 2019,” Calls for Quick Action by House
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Kafi Rouse
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For Immediate Release: June 19, 2019
PPV!RI Thanks 21 Senators Who Voted Yes to Protect Reproductive Freedom
Statement by Amanda Skinner, President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Votes! Rhode Island:
“Planned Parenthood Votes! Rhode Island (PPV!RI) joins our partners in the Rhode Island Coalition for Reproductive Freedom in thanking the Senators who voted yes tonight on the Reproductive Privacy Act of 2019 (H 5125 Sub B). The bill to protect the fundamental right to abortion in Rhode Island passed the Senate 21-17.
“Tonight, we made history. For the first time, the Rhode Island Senate stood up to protect safe, legal abortion in Rhode Island. We applaud Senate President Dominick Ruggerio and his leadership team for listening to the public and ensuring the bill reached the floor to receive the vote it deserved, and we thank Senator Erin Lynch Prata, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, for her hard work in crafting this new version of the legislation. Now, we call on the Rhode Island House of Representatives to pass the new version of the Reproductive Privacy Act of 2019 (RPA) without delay.
“Passing the Reproductive Privacy Act of 2019 will guarantee the right to safe and legal abortion in Rhode Island no matter what happens at the federal level.
“Across the country, states are passing laws aimed at eliminating access to abortion as part of a coordinated effort to challenge the protections of Roe v. Wade—and four decades of legal precedent protecting the fundamental right to abortion—in front of Trump’s Supreme Court. Their intention to overturn Roe is clear.
“This is the moment for Rhode Island to set an example for the entire country and stand up for reproductive freedom. There is a clear mandate to protect access to safe, legal abortion in Rhode Island—listening to the people, the House of Representatives, led by Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, passed the RPA on March 7th with a vote of 44-30. Planned Parenthood Votes! Rhode Island calls for swift action by the House to pass the new version and bring this critical legislation to the desk of Governor Raimondo.
“Abortion is health care, reproductive care is health care, and health care is a human right. The time is now to safeguard access to safe, legal abortion in Rhode Island state law.”