FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 13, 2019
Big Step Forward to Protect Roe and Our Rights
Activists thrilled that after decades of work, the Reproductive Privacy Act passed out of committee and will head to the Senate floor later this week.
(Providence, RI) – Statement by The Womxn Project on the Senate Health and Human Services Committee passage of H 5125B:
“We have been working for decades to advance legislation to protect right to seek an abortion. We took a huge step forward today as the Senate Health and Human Services Committee voted to pass an amended version of the Reproductive Privacy Act. Changes were made from the version that came out of the House, but the legislation continues to provide strong protections to ensure that no matter what happens at the federal level that here in our state people are able to get safe, legal abortion care.
We are grateful to the lawmakers who worked to find a path forward. This has been a long fought effort. People have been working for decades to get us to this day. Countless women have shared their stories – have put themselves out there and stood in front of people they do not know to tell personal details of their journeys in order to try to get legislators to understand how important and personal and necessary it is that when someone needs an abortion that they can get one.
Volunteers – thousands of volunteers – have given their time. We have people from our team who have been up at the State House every day of session in their pink to be present, to speak up, to represent the thousands more who want to see this bill pass and who because of work or family could not be up there. They have shown up time and again, missed bedtimes or soccer games to be a strong voice to make sure our rights are not trampled on or ignored.
This bill is a necessary and powerful challenge to the slew of states where politicians who do not know our lives or care about our stories have pushed to take abortion care away. This bill stands as a clear rejection of anyone who thinks they should be able to control our bodies, take away our rights, or deny the ability to make our own decisions about how we build our families and our futures.
There is still work to be done to get this bill to the governor’s desk, but we are not going anywhere. We are in this. We will be here on Tuesday when the full Senate votes. We will keep showing up and speaking out. And after that we will harness the power of this amazing movement that we have built to take on the barriers that push the right to abortion out of reach for too many.
The RPA is a strong, well-crafted policy. It will truly ensure that people have the right to make their own decisions. It has been a long road, but we are thrilled to take this important step forward. We are in this together. The time is now. No more waiting. Together, we will get this done. Together, we will protect our rights.”
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Jocelyn Foye and Jordan Hevenor are available for interview by request.
The Womxn Project “facts” page – overview of the Sub B amendment: https://thewomxnproject.org/facts/