WHEREAS:

The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the nearly 50-year-old, landmark Roe v. Wade decision in which the majority opinion held that there is a fundamental right to choose whether to continue a pregnancy without excessive government interference, affirming the constitutional right to privacy, which the court had relied upon in previous decisions; and

WHEREAS:

The court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization will inevitably jeopardize the health and well-being of millions of people, allowing states to force pregnancies to term even when doing so endangers their lives and health or even in cases of rape or incest; and

WHEREAS:

The court’s decision in Dobbs threatens the economic security and well-being of millions of individuals who should be allowed to decide intimate family planning questions for themselves in consultation with their health care providers and others whom they trust; and

WHEREAS:

Access to reproductive health care gives women and other people who can become pregnant the power to make decisions regarding their work lives, their futures and the economic security of their families because the decision about when and whether to bear children is fundamental to the ability to pursue self-sustaining work; and

WHEREAS:

The court’s decision is taking our nation backwards to a patchwork of varyingly restrictive state legal regimes governing access to reproductive health care, further solidifying barriers to care in far too many states and is already opening the door to divisive and socially injurious measures that attempt to restrict interstate travel to access abortions and give private citizens the ability to enforce abortion bans via individual lawsuits; and

WHEREAS:

Anti-abortion laws already enacted in several states as well as measures currently before other state legislatures would threaten those who choose not to continue a pregnancy with criminal prosecution, and would criminalize the provision of reproductive health care, potentially including the treatment of miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies, by medical professionals; and

WHEREAS:

Low-income women and women of color will be particularly harmed by the impact of the Dobbs decision; and

WHEREAS:

Opponents of reproductive rights all too often have also been the opponents of countless measures that would improve the prospects for children in our country today and increase the likelihood that pregnancies would be carried to term - measures such as income support, affordable child care, nutrition assistance, children’s health initiatives and housing subsidies - demonstrating time and again that a significant segment of these anti-choice forces are not truly pro-life; and

WHEREAS:

Many of these same anti-choice forces have shown an appalling lack of concern with the high rate of maternal and infant mortality in our country, especially in communities of color; and

WHEREAS:

AFSCME has long supported the right to reproductive health care and abortion rights. This includes Resolution 103 (“Freedom of Choice”) at our 29th International Convention (1990); Resolution 45 (“Urging AFSCME International to Promote Women's Reproductive Rights and Access to Affordable Health Care”) at our 40th International Convention (2012); and Resolution 71 (“Women’s Rights”) at our 41st International Convention (2014) among others; and

WHEREAS:

The court’s Dobbs decision potentially opens the floodgates to relitigating past Supreme Court precedents that advanced fundamental American rights and liberty, including the rights to access birth control, to marry the person you love regardless of their gender or the color of their skin and to be in an intimate relationship with a person regardless of gender.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:

That AFSCME will continue to support the fundamental right of all individuals to access appropriate reproductive health care, effective birth control and emergency contraception; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

That AFSCME will oppose undue government interference in personal choices regarding marriage and family and any efforts to undermine access to family planning services; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

That AFSCME will continue to assist affiliates in opposing measures at the state level that would criminalize reproductive choices and deny meaningful access to the full array of family planning and reproductive health care services; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

That AFSCME will assist affiliates as they deal with the adverse impact of the Dobbs decision in their collective bargaining agreements and health care plans; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

That AFSCME will continue our union’s longstanding advocacy for measures that reduce maternal mortality, such as expanding Medicaid and access to pre- and post-natal care, as well as measures that improve the lives of all children, such as accessible, affordable child care, paid parental leave, affordable housing and access to quality health care and education; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED:

That AFSCME will support federal legislation codifying full reproductive rights and expanded access to reproductive health care services.

SUBMITTED BY:
Frederick Yungbluth, Jr., President
Meredith Hickman, Secretary
AFSCME Council 75
Oregon

International Executive Board