House Judiciary Committee Passes Abortion Bill 9-7

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The House Judiciary Committee approved a controversial abortion rights bill Tuesday night by a vote of nine to seven. The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony on its version of the bill Tuesday night, which stretched into the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Representatives Craven, Shanley, McEntee, Almeida, Canario, Casimiro, Edwards, Jackson and McKiernan supported the bill, while Representatives Corvese, Millea, Noret, Place, Roberts, Vella-Wilk and Blake were in opposition.

Abortion rights groups including Planned Parenthood and the Womxn Project applauded the decision.

"Anti-abortion lawmakers are hellbent on chipping access to safe, legal abortion to the point where a right without access isn’t a right at all. We’re fighting to ensure Roe is protected in Rhode Island," Planned Parenthood wrote.

Senator Gayle Goldin (D, District 3, Providence) spoke out in support of the legislation and thanked others who testified as well. Testimony on the Senate bill stretched on throughout the night, with the last person being called to speak just before 6 a.m. Wednesday.

The bill, titled the "Reproductive Privacy Act" is sponsored by Anastasia P. Williams (D-Dist. 9, Providence). If passed, it would prevent any restrictions to abortion access up until the point of fetal viability, the point when a fetus could survive on its own outside the womb, either with or without medical support.

The definition of when fetal viability occurs has changed over the years, but the most generally-accepted threshold is around the 23 to 24-week mark. The American Academy of Pediatrics' official stance is that fetal viability varies from pregnancy to pregnancy, and must be determined on a case-by-case basis by the mother's healthcare provider.

Williams' bill states that no one, including the state, can interfere with a woman's access to an abortion, interfere with the decision to terminate a pregnancy, or prevent access to contraception. The bill also allows for late-term abortions (past the point of fetal viability) if the mother's life is at stake.

Providence Diocese Bishop Thomas Tobin denounced the bill, responding to the vote with a Bible verse Tuesday night.

"We have sinned and transgressed by departing from you and have done every kind of evil. For we are reduced O Lord beyond any other nation, brought low everywhere in the world this day because of our sins. We have in our day no prince, prophet or leader (Daniel 3: 29, 37-38)," Tobin wrote on Twitter.

The bill now moves to the full House for a vote. A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate as well. The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony on the bill Tuesday evening.

READ MORE: House Committee Set To Vote On Abortion Rights Bil

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Gayle Goldin is a Representative. She is a Senator.