WHEREAS, January 22, 2017, marks the 44th anniversary of the United States Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, which affirmed that every woman has a fundamental right to control her own reproductive decisions and to decide whether to end or to continue pregnancy, and is an occasion deserving of celebration; and

WHEREAS, Roe v. Wade has been the cornerstone of women’s ability to control their reproductive lives, allowing every woman in America the right to decide when, if, and with whom to have children, and how many children to have; and

WHEREAS, Women’s ability to control their reproductive lives has helped and facilitated their participation in the economic and social life of our nation; and

WHEREAS, Roe v. Wade has drastically reduced the maternal mortality rate for women terminating their pregnancies in the United States. In the years prior to the decision, illegal abortion accounted for approximately 17 percent of all reported deaths attributable to pregnancy and childbirth, and many women were severely injured as a result of “back alley” abortion procedures; and

WHEREAS, Interference with a woman’s right to choose causes women to be forced into illegal and dangerous abortions, as they often were in the United States before the Roe v. Wade decision. Many women are forced to make these decisions today in countries where abortion is illegal and where the unsafe methods of illegal abortion lead to 13 percent of global maternal deaths annually, or 8 maternal deaths every hour. Many survivors of an illegal abortion suffer serious and often permanent injuries; and

WHEREAS, Roe v. Wade continues to protect the health and freedom of women throughout the United States; and

WHEREAS, The State of California stands in strong support of every woman’s fundamental right, as confirmed in Roe v. Wade, to make her own decisions regarding her pregnancy; now, therefore, be it