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

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