Roe is on the line and while we are grateful to have protected the right to abortion in Rhode Island in 2019, BUT it will ONLY be available to people who are of means. That means people in RI who are on Medicaid and are State Workers will still NOT HAVE ACCESS after Roe is gutted or overturned.
Here at The Womxn Project we are not afraid to say these bans are racist and elitist if we don’t include all of us. There is a solution on the table though. A bill called the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act (H7442/S2549)! Remember, we passed THE abortion “issue” in 2019. This bill is about access for all, this bill is about poorer folx, this bill is about the people who work with and for us every day. This bill is an EQUAL RIGHTS bill.
BUT it is going to take ALL OF US to get it to the floor for a vote. Leadership in the House and Senate do not want to let it out of committee so they need to hear from us- as many of us as we can muster. We need to SHOW UP and show them we are willing to fight for abortion access THIS YEAR.
So…. I am sharing highlights below. I would love you to read it all but I get all our attention spans are short. TWP is giving you tools to work from home and be a voice that needs to be heard each day.
- This week we are pushing the governor to take action. He has said he supports the right, so let’s push him to get bans out of the budget. More info below.
- We are also showing up IN FORCE at the State House Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to ramp up the pressure to get the EACA scheduled for a hearing. You can join us. We will have folks there each day to help. More info below.
- We are thrilled that the Let RI Vote Act will also be up on Tuesday and we encourage you to stop by the House Lounge at 4pm to show your support – click here for details.
- We think self care is a part of this movement too. We are layering our birthday party in with a TON of laughs to propel us into the future with one another. More info below.
- Artist Call to do Artivist Interventions with us with financial support – click here for details.
- This coming Saturday, May 14th from 10:30-4:30pm, The Rhode Island Coalition for Reproductive Freedom and the Campaign for Equal Abortion Access are holding an event in solidarity for the national day of Abortion Access. click here for details
We need to be visible and show that we are watching the RI Governor, the Senate President Ruggerio, and House Speaker Shekarchi!! Take a look at all of the info below. This is a movement, this is a team effort, and it is going to take all of us.
(And just a few other things to expect in the near future – wink):
- TWP taking some of our efforts to TikTok
- further introduction and AWESOME activism around exposing the 11 fake family planning clinics in RI
- fundraising for out-of-state abortion funds in a few different states
- an important conversation with Rafa Kidvai Esq of If/When/How on June 13th
- a bunch of summer backyard parties to activate and organize further around the election
- ** the night the SCOTUS decision comes down we will hold a rally at the State House at 8pm like we did last week ****
- … and more 😉
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Further details on some of the above elements:
BUDGET AND THE GOVERNOR:
This week, we are focusing on pushing for a budget amendment. The governor has the power to introduce an amendment that would allow for state employees and people who use Medicaid to have coverage for abortion in the FY 2023 budget. We would still need the EACA in the long-run, but getting this budget amendment would be a big win and would provide much needed momentum.
- Take Action:
You can make a call and/or send an email ([email protected] and 401-222-2080):
“My name is __. I am a Rhode Island voter. I am here today to urge the governor to introduce an amendment to get abortion bans out of the state budget. We thank him for supporting the right to abortion and ask him to take action. Thank you.”
It is easy. You’ll be talking to a staff person, but they generally log calls and visits and what they were about, so this matters and shows people are paying attention. - Post on social media and tag @GovDanMcKee
“Governor McKee, you say you support the right to abortion. We need you to ACT NOW and introduce an amendment to get abortion bans out of the Rhode Island budget. #StoptheRIBans!”
STATE HOUSE ACTIONS:
The idea is to be a visible presence and wear your The Womxn Project tee – or pink if you don’t have one yet. We want to also ramp things up a bit this week — we need to as they are stalling our bill and we only have about a month left! We will be making ourselves present in House Finance and Senate Judiciary. These are the committees that will hear the EACA. Grateful to be organizing folks in collaboration with the Women’s Fund and the Rhode Island Coalition for Reproductive Freedom. Want to join us? Sign up here
- Tuesday, May 10th – contact: Mischa Downing (401-919-5588) – meeting up around 3:30, half the group can go to House Finance (Room 35) and half can go to Senate Judiciary (Room 313)
- Wednesday, May 11th – contact: Jennifer Lima (401-569-6834) from 4 to 6pm – meeting up and going to House Finance (Room 35)
- Thursday, May 12th – contact: Gail Harvey (401-527-0083) and Jill Rounds (401-632-2783) -meeting up around 4, half the group can go to House Finance (Room 35) and half can go to Senate Judiciary (Room 313)
MORE ABOUT THE BIRTHDAY PARTY:
We are honored to be celebrating our 5th birthday with FIVE funny, raunchy, sassy feminist comedians to bring it all out on June 10th at AS220! We all deserve a little fun and we know we could not do any of this without you. So mark your calendars and plan to join us on June 10th! Click here to buy tickets
Comedians:
Alessandra Grima, Janaya Gonsalves, Liz Moniz, Liani Pérez, Lindita Taka.