CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION _________________
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A RESOLUTION in support of the right to bodily autonomy and the right to access a safe and legal abortion; and affirming The City of Seattle's commitment to act consistently and proactively in support of those rights.
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WHEREAS, state governments across the nation are passing laws that expressly or effectively ban abortion in those states; and
WHEREAS, voters in Washington State have repeatedly affirmed Washingtonians' right to reproductive freedom and privacy, as demonstrated by the passage in 1991 of Initiative 120, otherwise known as the Reproductive Privacy Act, and by the defeat in 1998 of Initiative 694, which would have criminalized abortions later in pregnancy; and
WHEREAS, everybody needs access to a range of safe, affordable, and comprehensive reproductive health care services throughout their life, including screenings for cancer and sexually transmitted infections, contraceptive services, abortion care, prenatal care, and labor and delivery services; and
WHEREAS, some of the bills proposed or passed by various states would prevent people from obtaining an abortion once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which may be as soon as six weeks after conception, when many people are not yet aware of their pregnancy; and
WHEREAS, some of these bills also threaten doctors with prison time of up to 99 years and fines for performing abortions in their capacity as medical professionals; and
WHEREAS, such bills will have profoundly negative impacts on the health of people that are able to become pregnant by effectively eliminating access to all legal abortion services; and
WHEREAS, since 1976, federal legislation known as the Hyde Amendment has prohibited the use of Medicaid for abortion services and because of the systems of structural racism and socioeconomic inequality, people of color are more likely to use Medicaid for health care coverage and are therefore disproportionately impacted by the lack of choic...
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