“10. Justine Caldwell is one of the Rhode Islanders who wanted the General Assembly to vote this year on the bill sponsored by Rep. Edith Ajello and Sen. Gayle Goldin, both Providence Democrats, to create a law protecting abortion rights in Rhode Island. As noted previously in TGIF, the politics of this are tough for legislative leadership, since the perception is there’s little to gain by subjecting lawmakers to a vote on a highly polarizing issue. That explains why the Ajello/Goldin bill never got a floor vote this year. Yet advocates like Caldwell remain alarmed about the direction of the U.S. Supreme Court under President Trump. In a piece for RI Future, she pointed to public pressure as the reason why U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin changed his vote to oppose a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks: “Langevin’s vote set an example for his colleagues in Congress — that they need to listen to, and represent, their constituents,” Caldwell wrote. “His official statement, that he came to this decision after speaking with doctors and women in his district, is what we want our legislators to do. We hope that when we attempt to persuade legislators to vote for women’s health and reproductive rights, they will listen to us — and he did.” Of course, Langevin also has constituents who oppose abortion. Yet with Caldwell and her colleagues maintaining their focus on abortion rights, it remains to be seen how they will influence the General Assembly in 2018.”
http://ripr.org/post/tgif-20-things-know-about-rhode-island-politics-media-59#stream/0