SJR 19, as amended, Jackson. Women’s reproductive health.
This measure would request the President and the Congress of the United States to express their support for access to comprehensive reproductive health care, including the services provided by Planned Parenthood, and to oppose efforts to eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
Fiscal committee: no.
P1 1WHEREAS, January 22, 2016, marks the anniversary of the
2United States Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Roe v. Wade,
3which acknowledged that every woman has a fundamental right
P1 1to control her own reproductive decisions and decide whether to
2end or continue a pregnancy, and is an occasion that deserves
3recognition; and
4WHEREAS, The 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, making access
5to abortion safe and legal, has greatly improved the health of
6women and families; and
7WHEREAS, Roe v. Wade has been the cornerstone of women’s
8remarkable strides toward equality in the past four decades, and
9reproductive freedom is critical to a woman’s ability to participate
10fully in the social, political, and economic life of the community;
11and
12WHEREAS, California is committed to protecting the public
13health and welfare of all its residents, and recognizes that access
14to reproductive health services, including family planning and
15prenatal care, supports individuals and their families by ensuring
16that babies are planned, wanted, and healthy; and
17WHEREAS, California recognizes the importance of Planned
18Parenthood as one of California’s largest providers of women’s
19preventive and reproductive health care services, operating 115
20community-based health centers across the state, which provide
21more than 1.6 million patient visits a year; and
22WHEREAS, Planned Parenthood provides comprehensive health
23care services to women and men, which may include well-woman
24examinations, birth control, testing and treatment of sexually
25transmitted infections and HIV, pregnancy tests, life-saving cancer
26screenings, sex education, prenatal care, primary care services,
27and abortion services; and
28WHEREAS, Nationwide, during 4.6 million health center visits
29in 2013, Planned Parenthood provided services, including nearly
30400,000 Pap smear tests, 500,000 breast examinations, 1.1 million
31pregnancy tests, 3.6 million provisions of birth control information
32and services, and 4.5 million tests and treatments for sexually
33transmitted illnesses (including HIV), to approximately 2.7 million
34patients, almost 80 percent of whom were living with incomes at
35or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level; and
36WHEREAS, By providing millions of women with access to
37contraceptive services, public funding of Planned Parenthood helps
38women to avoid an estimated 516,000 unplanned pregnancies each
39year nationwide; and
P3 1WHEREAS, A sudden defunding of Planned Parenthood’s health
2centers by federal or state governments would put patients across
3California, particularly members of underserved communities, at
4a significant disadvantage relating to their general health care
5because Planned Parenthood is often the only source of health care
6services for so many Californians; and
7WHEREAS, Violence against abortion providers and laws that
8create barriers to abortion endanger the lives of both men and
9women; and
10WHEREAS, Reports have found that threats of harassment,
11intimidation, and violence against women’s health clinics have
12doubled since 2010, and as recently as November 27, 2015, a
13Planned Parenthood clinic was the target of a heinous act of
14domestic terrorism which resulted in the deaths of three people
15and nonfatal injuries to nine others; and
16WHEREAS, The State of California stands in strong support of
17Roe v. Wade and the work of Planned Parenthood, and of women’s
18reproductive health, and respects the principle that each woman
19has a fundamental right to make decisions regarding her pregnancy;
20now, therefore, be it
21Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of
22California, jointly, That the Legislature urges the President of the
23United States and Congress to express their support for access to
24comprehensive reproductive health care, including the services
25provided by Planned Parenthood and a woman’s fundamental right
26to control her own reproductive decisions, and to strongly oppose
27efforts to eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood; and
28be it further
29Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
30this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
31States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the
32Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and
33Representative from California in the Congress of the United
34States.
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