Senate Resolution No. 10

Introduced by Senator Jackson

(Coauthors: Senators Beall, Block, Calderon, Corbett, De León, DeSaulnier, Evans, Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Lara, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Monning, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Roth, Rubio, Steinberg, Wolk, Wright, and Yee)

January 14, 2013

Senate Resolution No. 10—Relative to Roe v. Wade.

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 people 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 would create a public health crisis
by once again making 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.