Nothing
Extreme about the Reproductive Health Care Act
The Rhode
Island Coalition for Reproductive Freedom rejects claims by
anti-choice activists which characterize the Reproductive
Health Care Act of 2019 (RHCA)
as “extreme.”
The Coalition also refutes the
results of a recent poll paid
for by “Citizens for Life, Liberty and the
Pursuit of Happiness,” an initiative led by the Gaspee Project.
The questions asked in this poll are
biased and misleading, and did not ask about maintaining the status-quo
afforded under Roe v Wade.
The RHCA, following the Supreme
Court’s decision in Roe and
subsequent cases, including Planned Parenthood v Casey, protects the
right to safe, legal abortion up to fetal viability.
The definition of fetal viability in
the RHCA is based on the language in Roe v Wade and
affirmed in subsequent cases.
Currently, an abortion can only be
performed after fetal viability in cases where the life or health of the
pregnant person is in jeopardy.
The need for an abortion later in pregnancy would be determined by a physician and is a complicated, medical decision where a physician needs to be able to consider all options to provide quality medical care for the pregnant person including induction, C-section, and abortion.
Abortion later in pregnancy is
extremely rare. Nearly all abortions—almost 99 percent—occur before the 20th
week of gestation and that number drops significantly the further along a
pregnancy progresses.
Abortion opponents falsely claim
that the RHCA would overturn established Rhode Island laws such as RIGL § 11-9-18 which provides for felony charges
against any licensed medical professional who fails to provide care for a baby
born alive in an ‘attempted abortion’; RIGL § 23-4.7 which
requires informed consent from patients and parental consent for minors;
and § 23-13-21, which prohibits Medicaid coverage for
abortion beyond cases of rape, incest, or to save the life or health of the
pregnant person.
“Our opponents are describing
dangers that do not exist in the RHCA. Unfortunately, we know all too well the
dangers that existed in pre-Roe Rhode
Island and the United States. Desperate women died. We cannot return to those
times. With a range of abortion cases in the Supreme Court pipeline — we must
act now to pass the Reproductive Health Care Act,” said Kelly Nevins, Executive Director
of The Women’s Fund of Rhode Island.
The Coalition calls on the General Assembly to pass the
Reproductive Health Care Act (H5127/S152) which codifies Roe v Wade and subsequent United States Supreme Court decisions
into Rhode Island statute and removes laws that are still on the books in Rhode
Island despite being declared unconstitutional and unenforceable.
The Rhode Island Coalition for
Reproductive Freedom (RICRF) is a coalition of organizations, working together
to share resources, build strategies and coordinate efforts to connect
reproductive freedom with social and economic justice. RICRF protects and
advances access to reproductive health care through advocacy and legislative
action.
American Civil Liberties Union of RI ⋄ American Congress of Obstetricians, RI Chapter ⋄ Catholics for Choice ⋄ The Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health ⋄ Hope and Change for Haiti ⋄ Humanists of Rhode Island ⋄ Indivisible RI ⋄ League of Women Voters, RI ⋄Medical Students for Choice ⋄ National Council of Jewish Women, RI Chapter ⋄ Planned Parenthood of Southern New England ⋄ Rhode Island Working Families Party ⋄ RI Coalition Against Domestic Violence⋄ RI Democratic Women for Leadership ⋄ RI National Association of Social Workers ⋄ RI National Organization for Women ⋄ RI Religious Coalition for Reproductive Freedom ⋄ The Woman Project ⋄Women’s Health and Education Fund ⋄ Women’s Fund of Rhode Island
American Civil Liberties Union of RI ⋄ American Congress of Obstetricians, RI Chapter ⋄ Catholics for Choice ⋄ The Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health ⋄ Hope and Change for Haiti ⋄ Humanists of Rhode Island ⋄ Indivisible RI ⋄ League of Women Voters, RI ⋄Medical Students for Choice ⋄ National Council of Jewish Women, RI Chapter ⋄ Planned Parenthood of Southern New England ⋄ Rhode Island Working Families Party ⋄ RI Coalition Against Domestic Violence⋄ RI Democratic Women for Leadership ⋄ RI National Association of Social Workers ⋄ RI National Organization for Women ⋄ RI Religious Coalition for Reproductive Freedom ⋄ The Woman Project ⋄Women’s Health and Education Fund ⋄ Women’s Fund of Rhode Island