Board of Commissioners of Cook County - File #: 15-1516

• File #: 15-1516
• Version: 1
• Name: PROTECTING ACCESS TO COMPREHENSIVE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE AND SUPPORTING INCREASED FUNDING LEVELS
• Type: Resolution
• Status: Approved
• File created: 1/28/2015
• In control: Board of Commissioners
• On agenda: 3/11/2015
• Final action: 4/29/2015
• Title: PROPOSED RESOLUTION PROTECTING ACCESS TO COMPREHENSIVE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE AND SUPPORTING INCREASED FUNDING LEVELS WHEREAS, women need access to safe, affordable, and comprehensive reproductive health care throughout their lives, including screening for cancer and sexually transmitted infections, contraceptive services, abortion care, prenatal care, and labor and delivery services; and WHEREAS, reproductive health is a vital component of a woman's overall health, and reproductive freedom is vital to a woman's safety, well-being, and ability to participate equally in society; and WHEREAS, on January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a historic and landmark decision, ruled in Roe v. Wade that the U.S. Constitution safeguards a woman's ability to make her own personal medical decisions about when or whether to have children; and WHEREAS, that decision has allowed women to participate more fully in society, saved lives, and strengthened families and we must always ...
• Sponsors: TONI PRECKWINKLE (President), LUIS ARROYO JR, JOHN A. FRITCHEY, BRIDGET GAINER, JESÚS G. GARCÍA, STANLEY MOORE, JOAN PATRICIA MURPHY, DEBORAH SIMS, ROBERT STEELE, LARRY SUFFREDIN, JEFFREY R. TOBOLSKI

Date	Ver.	Action By	Motion	Result
4/29/2015	1	Board of Commissioners	approve	Pass
4/29/2015	1	Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations Committee	recommend for approval	Pass
3/11/2015	1	Board of Commissioners	refer	Pass

title
PROPOSED RESOLUTION

PROTECTING ACCESS TO COMPREHENSIVE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE AND SUPPORTING INCREASED FUNDING LEVELS

WHEREAS, women need access to safe, affordable, and comprehensive reproductive health care throughout their lives, including screening for cancer and sexually transmitted infections, contraceptive services, abortion care, prenatal care, and labor and delivery services; and

WHEREAS, reproductive health is a vital component of a woman's overall health, and reproductive freedom is vital to a woman's safety, well-being, and ability to participate equally in society; and

WHEREAS, on January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a historic and landmark decision, ruled in Roe v. Wade that the U.S. Constitution safeguards a woman's ability to make her own personal medical decisions about when or whether to have children; and

WHEREAS, that decision has allowed women to participate more fully in society, saved lives, and strengthened families and we must always guard against efforts to deliberately erode the availability and affordability of abortion and undermine the protections provided by Roe v. Wade; and

WHEREAS, the majority of Americans continue to support safe, legal abortion; and

WHEREAS, federal and state laws that place obstacles in the paths of women seeking abortion care take away the ability of those women to make decisions and threaten the health of families; and

WHEREAS, one such restriction is the Hyde Amendment, passed by Congress on September 30, 1976, which for nearly 39 years has impeded access to abortion care for low-income women enrolled in Medicaid; and

WHEREAS, Medicaid coverage for abortion care has a significant effect on low-income women's ability to decide to end an unwanted pregnancy, and in the absence of such coverage many women are unable to obtain an abortion; and

WHEREAS, many women in Cook County, including state and federal employees, obtain insurance coverage through other ...