In Break From Status Quo, RI House Committee To Vote On Abortion-Rights Bill

[TexasTowelie]

Committee votes don’t take place without the blessing of legislative leaders. So it appears House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello (who personally opposes abortion) has decided to tacitly support codifying abortion rights, rather than letting the topic persist as a divisive issue.

However, legislative sources say the 15-member Judiciary Committee remains closely divided in the run-up to the vote.

Kelly Nevins, executive director of the Women’s Fund of RI, and part of a coalition of abortion-rights supporters, believes the changing makeup of the legislature is also a factor.

“We had real movement in our legislature with newly elected folks, who were elected, frankly, many of them, because of their support for making sure that Roe vs. Wade would remain the rule of the land here in Rhode Island,” Nevins said.

Read more: https://thepublicsradio.org/article/in-break-from-status-quo-ri-house-committee-to-vote-on-abortion-rights-bill

[TexasTowelie]

1. RI House Judiciary Committee Moves Abortion Bill To Full House Vote

Rhode Island’s House Judiciary Committee broke a longstanding standoff on abortion-related bills Tuesday by narrowly approving a measure to codify Roe vs. Wade in the state.

The 9 to 7 vote to advance the bill to the full House on Thursday followed more than an hour of debate among committee members.

Judiciary Chairman Robert Craven (D-North Kingstown) began the committee meeting by describing the legislation as a strict codification of Roe vs. Wade. Rep. Arthur Corvese (D-North Providence) disagreed, expressing concern that the measure introduced by Rep. Anastasia Williams (D-Providence) would mark an expansion of abortion rights.

Voting in favor of the bill: Democrats Craven; Reps. Evan Shanley of TOWN, Carol McEntee of South Kingstown, John Edwards of Tiverton, Julie Casimiro of North Kingstown, Joseph Almeida of Providence, Daniel McKiernan of Providence, and James Jackson of West Warwick.

Read more: https://thepublicsradio.org/article/ri-house-judiciary-committee-moves-abortion-bill-to-full-house-vote