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 Warwick, Carol McEntee of South Kingstown, John Edwards of Tiverton, Dennis Canario of Portsmouth, Julie Casimiro of North Kingstown, Joseph Almeida of Providence, Daniel McKiernan of Providence, and James Jackson of West Warwick.
The ‘no’ votes came from Reps. Chris Millea (D-Cranston), Camille Vella-Wilkinson (D-Town), Corvese, Thomas Noret (D-Coventry), David Place (R-Burrillville), Sherry Roberts (R-West Greenwich) and Minority Leader Blake Filippi (R-New Shoreham), who voted as ex officio member of the committee.
Filippi argued against the bill, along with Place and Millea.
“The part that really, I think, is problematic is eliminating the crime of fetal homicide, which is a third party causing a woman to have an unwanted abortion,” Filippi said after the committee vote. “There’s no protections in Roe v. Wade or federal law for that third party criminal, and I don’t see why we’d be absolving them of the crime against the fetus, especially in the third semester.”
Craven responded to that concern by saying various criminal charges against a person who causes a woman to have an unwanted abortion through an assault.
Craven said he expects the bill will not significantly affect Rhode Islanders if it becomes law.
“Right now, not much, because it mirrors existing law,” he said. “It tightened up partial-birth abortion and other issues. However, this is an insurance policy in the event that the Supreme Court overturns Roe vs. Wade.”
The election of Donald Trump as president in 2016 led supporters of abortion-rights, including Rep. Edith Ajello, to step up efforts to protect those rights in Rhode Island. After watching the committee vote, Ajello hugged a fellow progressive, Rep. Teresa Tanzi (D-South Kingstown) who was also sitting in the audience.
For years, legislative leaders have had a tacit agreement to not bring abortion-related bills to the floor of the House or the Senate. But that changed in part with the election of more supporters of reproductive rights in recent election cycles.
“The writing’s on the wall,” Ajello said. “There are more pro-choice members in the House than there ever have been, more pro-choice women, more women in the House.”
The bill also appears to have an even chance of passing the state Senate. Senate spokesman Greg Pare said that Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, despite his personal opposition to abortion, doesn’t necessarily oppose a bill coming to the floor.
The Judiciary Committee did not accept public testimony ahead of the vote. Former Gov. Don Carcieri, a Republican and staunch opponent of abortion, attended the meeting.
Opponents fumed over the vote.
“House Democratic leadership: Enablers of the worst kind,” Rhode Island Republican Chairman Brandon Bell, who noted that House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, House Majority Leader Joseph Shekarchi, and Rep. Edwards have been endorsed by Rhode Island Right to Life.
“Mattiello and Shekarchi didn’t bother showing up for the vote,” Bell said. “If Mattiello & Shekarchi showed up and voted no it would have died in Committee. And, if Edwards had voted no, it would have died in Committee.
The Rev. Bernard Healey, director of the RI Catholic Conference and Statehouse lobbyist for the Diocese of Providence, called the vote a low point in the three-century history of the General Assembly.
Supporters of abortion rights praised the vote.
Amanda Skinner, president and CEO, Planned Parenthood Votes! Rhode Island, said, “There is a clear public mandate to pass legislation protecting access to safe, legal abortion in Rhode Island,” said Amanda Skinner, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Votes! RI. “In last fall’s election, Rhode Islanders chose a record number of Planned Parenthood endorsed candidates to be their voice at the State House. 44 members of the General Assembly ran as proud champions of reproductive freedom – and won. In fact, over the last four years, over 75% of the newly elected members of the General Assembly support reproductive freedom. All five statewide General Officers elected in 2018 proudly and publicly support the right to choose, as do both our US senators, and Rhode Island consistently votes for pro-choice presidential candidates, such as Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Kerry.”
