Rhode Island Codifies Roe

So we did a thing! After years of organizing, countless phone calls, tens of thousands of postcards, and hundreds of hours at the State House, WE (that includes YOU) finally codified Roe into Rhode Island law.

Last night, after the Senate and then the House passed the Reproductive Privacy Act (“RPA”) (H5125 sub B), Governor Raimondo signed the bill into law at approximately 9 pm. TWP’s very own Jordan Hevenor was in the room during the signing, sporting one of our limited edition “Wednesdays We Smash the Patriarchy” t-shirts. (Very soon we will have these available on demand for you to purchase.)

The RPA never would have made it to Gov. Raimondo’s desk without the tireless efforts of YOU, our grassroots activists. Your activism created enough pressure to convince both the House Speaker and the Senate President, both anti-choice legislators, to allow the bill to come to the House and Senate floors for debate and a vote. Your presence at the State House created enough noise and momentum that, in a historic move, the House took up the passed Senate bill immediately and then minutes after passage on by the House, Governor Raimondo signed the bill into law. During the signing ceremony, she even mentioned that “it’s been a very noisy State House”! We’ll take that as a compliment, Governor! And we hope you will as well.

Please reach out to your Senators and Representatives if they voted yes.
Here are those Yays and Nays so you can see who did what. (click the images to see larger)

: House List

: Senate List

In celebration, join us tomorrow in a Victory Party

There will be many opportunities to come together to celebrate all we have achieved. Let’s kick off those festivities – join The Womxn Project THIS FRIDAY, June 21st at Sons of Liberty (1425 Kingstown Rd, South Kingstown) from 7:00-10:00pm. Learn more or sign-up by clicking HERE.

Additionally, consider joining us for:

Womxn Project: RPA Campaign Debrief (6/23)
Let’s talk about how we got here and some of thenext steps this Sunday, June 23rd from 7:00-8:00pm. Register to receive call-in details. You can also follow the conversation at #repro4RI.

Community Meeting and Strategy Session:
Let’s talk about how we got here and some of thenext steps this Sunday, June 23rd from 7:00-8:00pm

– – – – – – – Written on the night of the bill signing before it was signed – – – – – – – – –

WE DID THIS! Together, we made history!

We are still cheering and clapping and flabbergasted with absolute joy. The Reproductive Privacy Act is headed to the governor’s desk!

Earlier tonight, the Rhode Island State Senate debated and then passed the RPA. Given the last timing in the session and the fact that lawmakers recognized how important and high stakes this bill was to many, many voters, they immediately transmitted it to the House and just moments ago, the Rhode Island House of Representatives voted to pass the Reproductive Privacy Act (H 5125B) and protect the right to abortion. The bill will now head to Governor Gina Raimondo’s desk. She has already pledged to sign this legislation.

We want to be very clear. This absolutely, without a doubt would NOT have happened without thepassion and dedication of activists like you. The Womxn Project has had the incredible honor of partnering and connecting with thousands of volunteers in recent months who have given their time and shared their stories and in so many cases went above and beyond to make sure that this important bill would finally make it through after decades of hard work.

There were so many points in this campaign that people told us it wasn’t going to happen, but we kept organizing. There were several bumps along the road, but we kept showing up. There were times folks said we should just give up, but we didn’t. We kept on fighting together. This night – this win – this huge step forward is a result of that tenacity and of the fact that we knew this was so much bigger than any one of us.

This victory is about the health, rights and bodily autonomy of every Rhode Islander. It is about taking a stand. It is about saying we won’t go back to a time when people were denied access to safe, legal abortion and pushed into desperate and dangerous circumstances. It is about saying we will speak out and speak up for what we believe in and we know that when we leverage our collective strength we will make a real and positive difference. That is what we did tonight!

There is still much work to be done to protect access to make sure that the right to abortion is a reality regardless of age, income, insurance type or immigration status. There are efforts that must be undertaken to help ensure that people can prevent pregnancy when they are not ready to parent or add to their family and to be able to have healthy pregnancies and care for their families with dignity. There is still much to be done, but tonight we celebrate!

The Womxn Project started just two years ago around a kitchen table when a group of artists and activists came together to talk about building a strong statewide movement for change. We are beyond thrilled with how far we’ve come with your help! Thank you so much for being this with us! It is and continues to be an honor.