Agenda Text
title
Reaffirming support for the 1973 US Supreme Court decision which affirmed that access to safe and legal abortion is a constitutional right.
body
Official Text
WHEREAS: Whereas this City Council wishes to reaffirm the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case which affirmed that access to safe and legal abortion is a constitutional right; and
WHEREAS: Norma Leah Nelson McCorvey (September 22, 1947 - February 18, 2017), better known by the legal pseudonym "Jane Roe", was the plaintiff in the landmark American lawsuit Roe v. Wade in 1973; and
WHEREAS: Roe v. Wade was a landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that established a woman's legal right to an abortion; and
WHEREAS: In its ruling, the court recognized for the first time that the constitutional right to privacy “is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy” (Roe v. Wade, 1973). Roe has come to be known as the case that legalized abortion nationwide; and
WHEREAS: The Court ruled, in a 7-2 decision, that a woman's right to choose an abortion was protected by the privacy rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; and
WHEREAS: Since 2010, states have quietly passed more than 400 restrictions on abortion care; and
WHEREAS: Six states have passed bills to ban abortion this year; and
WHEREAS: Access to comprehensive reproductive health services is an essential need; and
WHEREAS: Reproductive justice and economic justice cannot exist separately, particularly for people of color; and
WHEREAS: Banning abortions will not stop abortions, it will end access to safe abortions; and
WHEREAS: Abortion bans will have a disproportionate effect on low income people. 75 % of abortion recipients in 2014 were economically disadvantaged; and
WHEREAS: Reproductive justice and economic justice cannot exist separately, particularly for people of color; and
WHEREAS: Abortion is healthcare. Roe v. Wade solidified the notion that all people should have access to healthcare, including reproductive healthcare; and
WHEREAS: The ability to choose when to have a child is a crucial issue of economic justice, and restricting access to abortion will have a disproportionate effect on those already relying on lower incomes; and
WHEREAS: These bans as well as restrictions on legal abortions in many states- including Massachusetts- serve to stigmatize the choices made in order for many families to have economic security; THEREFORE BE IT
RESOLVED: We affirm the importance of high quality and comprehensive health care for all people, including reproductive, ob/gyn, and pediatric care that results in long-term well-being and positive outcomes for people of all backgrounds, regions of our country, and financial means; AND BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED: That Somerville’s City Council, in session assembled, hereby adopts this Resolution to support Roe vs. Wade with a copy forwarded to Congresswoman, Ayanna Pressley, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey.