Catholic Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo Vows to Sign Bill Legalizing Abortions Up to Birth

By: MICAIAH BILGER, Life News

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo is pushing a radical pro-abortion bill in her state while claiming to be Catholic.

The legislation, which contradicts the teachings of the Catholic Church, would legalize abortions for basically any reason up to birth. A state House committee is expected to vote on the bill today.

Earlier this month, Raimondo promised to support the pro-abortion bill in her State of the State address, NBC 10 reports.

“Let’s make this the year we codify women’s access to reproductive health care here in Rhode Island,” Raimondo said.

The Rhode Island Reproductive Health Care Act, co-sponsored by state Sen. Gayle L. Goldin and Rep. Edith H. Ajello, would strip away even minor, common-sense abortion regulations – ones that a strong majority of Americans support. It would eliminate all protections for unborn babies and codify Roe v. Wade into state law in case the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the ruling.

The bill appears to allow restrictions for late-term abortions, but it adds a broad “health” exception for abortions after viability. The exception would allow women to abort unborn babies up to nine months of pregnancy for basically any “health” reason, including “age, economic, social and emotional factors,” a definition given by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Doe v. Bolton.

Ajello described protections for unborn babies as “insidiously restrictive, harmful and patriarchal reproductive laws.” Her bill would even repeal the state partial-birth abortion ban and fetal homicide law, which provides justice to pregnant mothers whose unborn babies are killed by abusive partners, drunken drivers or others whose illegal actions cause the death of the unborn baby.

The ACLU, which supports Ajello’s bill, has claimed fetal homicide laws are problematic because they treat “a fetus as a person.”

The Democrat-controlled Rhode Island legislature may pass the pro-abortion bill, spurred on by fears about the new conservative Supreme Court.

“With women’s healthcare under attack in Washington, it’s more urgent than ever that we take proactive steps to enshrine women’s access to reproductive care here in Rhode Island,” Raimondo’s spokesman told NBC 10.

But pro-life advocates are fighting back, exposing the inhumane, gruesome truth about the legislation. Nichole Rowley, a mother of two from Lincoln, has been speaking out in defense of life.

“Governor Raimondo claims to be Catholic and is publicly lobbying for Rhode Island to pass radical abortion legislation,” Rowley told the local news.

She and her husband plan to testify in front of the state House committee today, according to the report.

“… the basis of human rights is that all innocent human beings have a natural right to life,” Rowley said. “The logical conclusion is obvious: the unborn are human beings who deserve the right to life and abortion is a human rights violation.”

Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union are lobbying for the bill.

If the bill passes, America could see abortion rates rise after a steady decline for decades. Last week, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a similar pro-abortion bill, legalizing abortion for basically any reason up to birth. The Vermont and New Mexico legislaturesare considering very similar legislation this winter.

ACTION: Contact the Rhode Island legislature to oppose this bill. And contact Gov. Gina Raimondo to oppose the bill.