WHEREAS, January 22, 2013, marks the 40th anniversary of the United States Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, which held that every woman has a fundamental right to control her own reproductive decisions and decide whether to end or continue a pregnancy, and is an occasion that deserves celebration; and
WHEREAS, The 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, making access to abortion safe and legal, has greatly improved the health of women and families; and
WHEREAS, Roe v. Wade has been the cornerstone of women’s remarkable strides toward equality in the past four decades, and reproductive freedom is critical to a woman’s ability to participate fully in the social, political, and economic life of the community; and
WHEREAS, California is committed to protecting public health and the welfare of all its residents, and recognizes that access to reproductive health services, including family planning and prenatal care, supports individuals and their families by ensuring that babies are planned, wanted, and healthy; and
WHEREAS, The public policy of California, as expressed in the Reproductive Privacy Act, and protected by the California Constitution’s express right to privacy, is that each woman has the fundamental right to make decisions regarding her reproductive health; and
WHEREAS, California has a pioneering history in supporting reproductive rights, including the California Supreme Court’s 1969 decision in People v. Belous, recognizing that a woman’s decision to end a pregnancy is protected by her constitutional right to privacy, four years prior to the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade; and
WHEREAS, In a democracy, people may have differing views about abortion, but most Californians recognize that only a pregnant woman can know, and should be entitled to decide, what option is best for herself and her family; and
WHEREAS, Over 75 percent of Californians oppose efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade, which could create a public health crisis if individual states made abortion illegal and unsafe; and
WHEREAS, The 2012 elections sent a powerful and unmistakable message to Members of Congress and state legislatures that women do not want politics or politicians to interfere with their personal medical decisions; and
WHEREAS, Violence against abortion providers and laws that create barriers to abortion endanger a woman’s health; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That on the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Senate of the State of California recognizes the critical importance of continued access to safe and legal abortion and urges the President of the United States and the Congress to protect and uphold the intent and substance of the 1973 United States Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the author for appropriate distribution.