'Bans Off Our Bodies': Abortion-rights rally in Providence draws hundreds of protesters

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

55% : Pro-choice advocates, including the bill's sponsors, Rep. Liana Cassar, D-Barrington, and Sen. Bridget Valverde, D-North Kingstown, urged the crowd to turn out at Thursday's House Finance Committee's hearing on the bill.
50% : Pink was the predominant color of the day, with T-shirts sporting messages that said, "Bans Off Our Bodies" and signs that said "Abolish the Supreme Court" and "Abortion is Health Care."Across the street from the rally, Margo Weiss and her 3-year-old daughter, Amelie, were painting a giant mural in primary colors that said "Bans Off Our Bodies.""This issue is important to me," Margo Weiss said.
47% : More: 'We are strong': Abortion rights protesters rally at RI State House in wake of Supreme Court leakTwenty-six states are certain or likely to ban abortions if the Supreme Court hands down this ruling, according to Planned Parenthood.
46% : (In 2019, the legal right to abortion was codified into Rhode Island law by passage of the Reproductive Privacy Act.)
44% : Although abortion in Rhode Island is legal, the procedure is not covered by Medicaid nor is it available to state employees.
38% : If the draft opinion holds, it will be left up to each state to decide whether to restrict or ban abortion.
37% : Legislation before the General Assembly would allow Rhode Island's Medicaid program to cover abortion and repeal the state law that prohibits state employee health plans from covering it.
32% : "I remember what it was like when abortion was illegal," said Christine Hebert, of Cranston.
22% :Pro-choice advocates worry that banning abortion will open the door to the erosion of other legally guaranteed rights, from contraception to same-sex marriage.

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