Statement by The Womxn Project on the release of poll done for a group called “Citizens for Life”:

“Many people have strong feelings about abortion. But the fact is that decisions around pregnancy, parenting and abortion are personal. It is not the place of someone else to interfere with the kind of healthcare we seek or how we plan and build our families.

“For more than twenty years, polls that have actually asked about the right to abortion have consistently found that a majority of voters support the right to abortion. Studies have consistently shown time and again that voters do not want to see Roe v Wade overturned. The poll released by opponents of abortion that pushed misinformation and misleading claims does not change that.

“In spite the rhetoric and at times outright mischaracterization, the fact is that the Reproductive Health Care Act (H5127/S0152) simply codifies the protections of the Roe v Wade decision into Rhode Island statute.

“It removes laws on that are currently on Rhode Island books that are unconstitutional and unenforceable. It does NOT, as the opposition claims, permit a woman to seek an abortion at any stage in pregnancy for any reason. This is simply not true and they know it.

“The RHCA allows a pregnant person the legal right to obtain an abortion up to fetal viability. The definition of fetal viability in the RHCA is identical to current federal law established through Roe v Wade. After viability, access to services would be limited to cases where a woman’s life or health was at risk. This is the law as it stands today and the RHCA does not change that. This bill is thoughtful and well-crafted. It is simply about protecting the right to abortion.

“The recent poll done by the newly formed Citizens for Life did not in fact ask about the right to abortion. It used trumped up and misleading rhetoric and asked about a law that has already been settled at the federal level. This is in no way any kind of comment on the current legislation moving in the state of Rhode Island.

“We have seen incredible momentum for the RHCA in recent weeks. Just last weekend we had hundreds of volunteers working on postcards and jumping on the phones to express their support for H5127, and to engage their friends, family and neighbors in this important campaign.

“People are looking past the false information, listening to the facts and standing on the side of fulfilling and protecting the promise of Roe and the right to make our own decision about abortion.”