Gov. Raimondo responds to calls for special session on abortion rights

Governor Gina Raimondo is responding after calls for a special session with the legislature to protect abortion rights in Rhode Island.

This comes less than a week after Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced he was retiring.

Around 100 protesters were outside the State House last Thursday, fearing a landmark decision that makes abortion legal will be overturned if President Donald Trump shifts the balance of the court.

If a special session were to be called, lawmakers would work to pass a bill that would protect the right to an abortion on the state level. The bill is called the Reproductive Health Care Act.

Governor Raimondo said she would like to see this emergency session happen.

"It’s more urgent and necessary than ever that our legislature codifies Roe v. Wade and protects a woman’s right to choose," Raimondo said.

Lawmakers in favor of the special session would like to see it happen before July 31, Justice Kennedy’s last day.