Rhode Islanders who help someone from out of state get an abortion are now protected
Gov. Dan McKee on Tuesday ordered state agencies not to cooperate with any investigations launched by other states of Rhode Islanders who help someone get an abortion.
His executive order comes in response to the U.S. Supreme Court last month overturning the Roe v. Wade decision protecting the right to abortion and moves by states across the country to severely limit or ban abortions.
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“Women should be trusted with their own health care decisions, and here in Rhode Island, we firmly support a right to choose,” McKee said in a news release. “The executive order I signed today ensures that Rhode Island will continue to stand up for reproductive health care, especially in response to the shameful U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.”
What the executive order says
The executive order is similar to one signed by Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling.
It says no state agency will participate in any "investigation or proceeding initiated in or by another state that seeks to impose civil or criminal liability or professional sanction" for "providing, facilitating or receiving, or responding to any inquiry about, reproductive health care services that are legal in Rhode Island."
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The order also says the state will decline any request for extradition from another state attempting to prosecute someone for reproductive health care services that are legal in Rhode Island.
And it tells the Department of Health to work with professional licensing boards to prevent any providers from being sanctioned or disqualified for providing abortion services.
panderson@providencejournal.com
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On Twitter: @PatrickAnderso_
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: McKee signs order protecting RIers from other state abortion bans
