Submitted by: Sam Denes
Submitting Department: Legislative
Agenda Section: Discussion
Item Title:
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Hyattsville Bodily Autonomy Act
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Suggested Action:
recommendation
FOR DISCUSSION, SUGGESTED MOTION LANGUAGE BELOW:
I move that the Mayor and Council authorize the City Attorney to draft an ordinance establishing Hyattsville as a City which protects bodily autonomy for women seeking abortions and other reproductive health care and health care providers providing abortions and women's health care services, as well as individuals receiving gender affirming care and people providing gender affirming care and other gender affirming care services: establishing the right to seek and provide reproductive and gender affirming care as a protected non-discrimination class and prohibit law enforcement employed and managed by the City of Hyattsville from sharing information about women's health care and health care procedures and people giving and receiving gender affirming care with other local, state and national law enforcement bodies.
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Summary Background:
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an opinion in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization establishing that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion and overturning decisions (Roe v. Wade, 1973 and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 1992) establishing prior jurisprudence which affirmed a constitutional right to an abortion for women seeking reproductive health care.
This decision has had impacts on women's right to access reproductive health care nationwide. Abortion is now outright illegal in 13 states, access to abortion is restricted in another 13 states and there are no express legal protections for abortion in another 3 states.
Many women seeking access to care have not only travelled hundreds of miles to receive it but have also been threatened with violence by citizens outside abortion clinics and arrest by local and state law enforcement agenci...
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