HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES-2020-065 Resolution Calling for Repeal of the Hyde Amendment and Supporting the Right of All Women to Safe and Comprehensive Health Care RES - 202M65 V
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
A RESOLUTION CALLING FOR REPEAL OF THE HYDE AMENDMENT
AND SUPPORTING THE RIGHT OF ALL WOMEN TO SAFE AND
COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CARE
WHEREAS , a person ' s bodily autonomy and freedom to make reproductive decisions are
vital to their safety , well - being , economic opportunity , and ability to participate equally in
society ; and
WHEREAS , access to safe , affordable , and comprehensive reproductive health care is a
basic human right and is important for the overall physical and mental health of women
and of transgender and gender- nonconforming individuals who can become pregnant ;
and
WHEREAS , every person has a right to comprehensive , evidence - based information
about the full range of reproductive health care options , and should have access to
comprehensive reproductive health care throughout their lives , regardless of income ,
race/ethnicity , age , sexual orientation , gender identity , ability , immigration status ,
geographic circumstance , criminal history , and insurance - coverage status ; and
WHEREAS , in 1973 , the US Supreme Court , in a landmark decision , ruled in Roe v Wade
that the US Constitution safeguards a woman ' s ability to make her own personal medical
decisions about whether and when to have children ; and
WHEREAS , in the Whole Woman Is Health v Hellerstedt decision in 2016 , the US
Supreme Court reaffirmed the constitutional right to access abortion ; and
WHEREAS , these decisions have saved lives , strengthened families , and enabled
women to participate more fully in society , and we must guard against efforts to erode the
availability and affordability of abortion and to undermine the protections affirmed by Roe
v Wade ; and
WHEREAS , the Hyde Amendment , passed by Congress on September 30 , 1976 , has for
44 years impeded access to abortion for low- income women enrolled in Medicaid ; and
WHEREAS , North Carolina law imposes limits on insurance coverage of abortion in the
state Medicaid program ; and
WHEREAS , approximately 400 , 000 women in North Carolina ( including more than 2 , 000
in Orange County) who qualify for insurance coverage from the federal or state
government — including local , school district , state , and federal employees ; veterans and
military service members ; Native Americans who use the Indian Health Service ; Peace
Corps members ; persons incarcerated in federal prisons ; and those who purchase
insurance through the Affordable Care Act — are subject to bans on insurance coverage
of abortion ; and
WHEREAS , the impact of health inequities and obstacles to quality health care fall
hardest on low- income women , women of color , immigrant and undocumented women ,
survivors of domestic violence , transgender and gender- nonconforming individuals , and
young women ; and
WHEREAS , public health insurance programs should cover all of an individual ' s options
when they are facing pregnancy and other reproductive health care decisions , so that
they may make real decisions about what is best for them and their family , and so that
their economic status and source of insurance coverage do not affect important health
care decisions or access ;
NOW , THEREFORE , BE IT RESOLVED that the Orange County Board of
Commissioners calls for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment in this forty-fourth year of its
enactment ; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Commissioners encourages Governor
Roy Cooper to support these and other measures to protect the rights of women and
transgender and gender- nonconforming individuals everywhere to unhindered access to
safe and comprehensive reproductive health care .
This the 20t" day of October , 2020 .
Pen y Rich , it
Or , ge Cou y Board of Commissioners
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