Late Tuesday, May 14th, the RI Senate Judiciary Committee voted 5 to 4 to reject S.B. 154 (The Reproductive Health Act). Voting against the legislation were: Senators Stephen Archambault, Harold Metts, Jessica de la Cruz, Frank Lombardi and Leonidas Raptakis. Voting for were: Senate Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Erin Lynch Prata, and Senators Cynthia Coyne, Dawn Euer and Mark McKenney.
After the decision was announced, pro-choice advocates in the rotunda broke out in chants of ‘Shame, shame’ and ‘vote them out’. Many went on to rush the office of Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, D-North Providence, demanding that the legislation be brought to the Senate floor for a full vote.
However, the committee also voted to hold the House version of the bill “for further study”. Ruggerio said in a statement. “By holding the House version of the bill for further study today, there is an opportunity for further action. I ask all parties to continue working together to see if amended language can be developed that will pass committee and be brought to the floor.”
While we should praise God for this victory, we must also remain in prayer for those lawmakers who have shown the courage to stand up for the unborn; and pray for our state, and this country, to see the worth God has placed on every life and reject the callous murder of so many children in the name of “reproductive rights”.