Ignoring wide-spread opposition, Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee rushed to sign a radical bill Thursday that forces state taxpayers to pay for unborn babies to be killed in elective abortions.
NBC Boston reports the Democrat governor signed the pro-abortion bill “almost immediately” after the state Senate passed it, giving no time for voters to voice their opposition to him.
State Senate Bill 32 repeals a long-standing ban on taxpayer funding for elective abortions and forces taxpayers to pay for unborn babies to be aborted for any reason through the state Medicaid program and government employee health insurance plans.
Both Republicans and Democrats opposed the bill, as did many voters. Polls consistently show Americans oppose taxpayer funding for elective abortions.
But McKee issued a short statement saying he felt proud to sign the law. He also included $622,000 in his 2024 state budget proposal to pay for more unborn babies to be killed in abortions, according to the report.
“Here in Rhode Island, we will always protect a woman’s right to choose and ensure equal access to these crucial health care services,” the governor said.
But killing unborn babies in abortions is not health care – something tens of thousands of doctors confirm.
ACTION ALERT: To complain about signing the bill, Contact Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee.
“Abortion is not health care because killing is not healing,” Rhode Island State Right to Life said in response to the bill earlier this week.
Lawmakers voiced strong opposition to the radical pro-abortion expansion, including Republican state Sen. Jessica de la Cruz and Democrat state Rep. Arthur Corvese, the report continues.
“For decades, the consensus has maintained that regardless of one’s view on the legality or appropriateness of abortion, taxpayers should not be forced or encouraged to pay for abortions,” de la Cruz said.
Even some lawmakers who support legalized abortion opposed the bill. State Rep. Charlene M. Lima, D-Cranston, who describes herself as pro-choice, said taxpayers should not be forced to pay for something that they believe is morally wrong, according to the Brown Daily Herald.
“People are taxed out,” Lima said on the House floor in April. “They’re tired.”
The state should not “mandate taxpayers who, for personal reasons or religious reasons, do not agree with abortion to have to pay for it,” she continued. “It is so easy to spend money when it’s not yours. If the 50-something people on this floor want to pay for abortion … use your money, not the taxpayer’s money.”
But Democrat state Sen. Bridget Valverde, a sponsor of the bill, argued that abortions are health care, so they should be covered by medical insurance.
“For so many the right has remained elusive,” Valverde said. “That’s because a right to a health care service is useless if we intentionally prevent people’s health insurance from covering it.”
Rhode Island reported 2,611 abortions in 2020, according to Centers for Disease Control data, but the new law likely will cause that number to increase.
Polls consistently show strong public opposition to taxpayer-funded abortions. A new Marist poll found 60 percent of Americans oppose using tax dollars to fund abortions in the U.S. Additionally, 78 percent oppose using tax dollars to fund abortions in other countries.
At the federal level, the Hyde and Helms Amendments prohibit federal taxpayer funding for elective abortions in Medicaid and overseas programs. However, states can force their residents to pay for abortions with state tax dollars and 16 currently do.
ACTION ALERT: To complain about signing the bill, Contact Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee.
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