CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE relating to human rights; including protections against discrimination based on an individual's actual, potential, perceived, or alleged pregnancy outcomes; and amending Sections 3.14.910, 3.14.931, 3.110.260, 4.80.020, 6.02.270, 6.202.230, 14.04.020, 14.04.030, 14.04.040, 14.06.020, 14.06.030, 14.08.015, 14.08.020, 14.08.045, 14.08.070, 14.08.190, 14.10.010, 14.10.020, and 18.12.280 of the Seattle Municipal Code.
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WHEREAS, on June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (No. 19-1392) overruling the constitutional right to an abortion established by Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833, and repudiating a constitutional right to privacy; and
WHEREAS, the majority opinion in Dobbs returns the issue of whether and to what extent to provide access to abortion to the states; and
WHEREAS, in 1991, the people of Washington initiated the Reproductive Privacy Act, which affirms the fundamental right of persons in Washington to privacy with respect to personal reproductive decisions and proscribes the authority of the state to deny or interfere "with a pregnant individual's right to choose or refuse to have an abortion"; and
WHEREAS, The New York Times estimates that after Dobbs, with current and likely trigger laws banning abortions in up to 24 states, as many as 17 million persons capable of being pregnant would not have access to local abortion services; and
WHEREAS, sexual and reproductive health and rights organizations estimate that after Dobbs Washington will see an increase in persons traveling to the state to seek abortion services; and
WHEREAS, through Chapter 65, Laws of 2022, the State amended chapter 9.02 of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) declaring: "The state shall not penalize, prosecute, or otherwise take adverse action against an ind...
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