NIRH Praises Enactment of Legislation Enshrining Abortion Access in Rhode Island Law

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 2019
Contact: Noah Gardy, [email protected]

Legislation repeals outdated laws and ensures access to abortion regardless of what happens at the federal level

RHODE ISLAND – Andrea Miller, President of the National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH), released the following statement celebrating the passage and enactment of legislation in Rhode Island codifying abortion access into state law. With the fight for reproductive freedom spreading across the country and anti-abortion activists pushing legislation to challenge Roe v Wade, Rhode Island follows in the footsteps of New York’s landmark RHA, which NIRH spearheaded, and joins a growing number of states including Illinois, Maine, Vermont, New Jersey, Nevada, and New York moving to protect abortion access.

“The swift passage and enactment of legislation codifying abortion access into Rhode Island law reflects a growing consensus that, faced with unprecedented efforts to undermine reproductive freedom, states have an obligation to act,” said Andrea Miller, president of the National Institute for Reproductive Health. “Rhode Island is a state with many outdated anti-abortion laws on the books and faced an uphill battle in passing the Reproductive Privacy Act. This passage is evidence that the fight for abortion rights and access is spreading like wildfire, and Rhode Island’s legislation, enshrining the right to abortion access in state law, ensures that regardless what happens in other states or at the federal level, women will have the ability to control their bodies and their futures. I applaud Rhode Island’s advocates, activists, and elected official for their tireless efforts on behalf of reproductive health, rights, and justice.”

For more than a decade, NIRH has been a leader in the fight to advance reproductive freedom across the country. Recently, they were integral to the successful effort to repeal an outdated criminal abortion ban in Massachusetts, and they led the fight to pass New York’s landmark Reproductive Health Act. Earlier this year, NIRH published a report tracking the passage of more than 100 bills to advance reproductive health, rights, and justice in 27 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.).

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The National Institute for Reproductive Health builds power at the state and local level to change public policy, galvanize public support, and normalize women’s decisions about abortion and contraception.
Using a partnership model, NIRH provides state and local advocates with strategic guidance, hands-on support, and funding to create national change from the ground up. We form strategic partnerships with a wide range of organizations to directly impact the reproductive health and lives of women across the country. Each year, NIRH works in at least 20 states and more than a dozen localities; to date, NIRH has partnered with more than 170 reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations in 43 states and 64 localities across the country.