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9 <br /> 1 BOCC Chair Penny Rich submitted a petition at the Board's October 6, 2020 <br /> 2 Business meeting proposing that the Board consider a resolution regarding the repeal of the <br /> 3 Hyde Amendment. <br /> 4 <br /> 5 RES-2020-065 <br /> 6 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> 7 A RESOLUTION CALLING FOR REPEAL OF THE HYDE AMENDMENT <br /> 8 AND SUPPORTING THE RIGHT OF ALL WOMEN TO SAFE AND <br /> 9 COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CARE <br /> 10 <br /> 11 WHEREAS, a person's bodily autonomy and freedom to make reproductive decisions are <br /> 12 vital to their safety, well-being, economic opportunity, and ability to participate equally in <br /> 13 society; and <br /> 14 <br /> 15 WHEREAS, access to safe, affordable, and comprehensive reproductive health care is a <br /> 16 basic human right and is important for the overall physical and mental health of women <br /> 17 and of transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals who can become pregnant; <br /> 18 and <br /> 19 <br /> 20 WHEREAS, every person has a right to comprehensive, evidence-based information <br /> 21 about the full range of reproductive health care options, and should have access to <br /> 22 comprehensive reproductive health care throughout their lives, regardless of income, <br /> 23 race/ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability, immigration status, <br /> 24 geographic circumstance, criminal history, and insurance-coverage status; and <br /> 25 <br /> 26 WHEREAS, in 1973, the US Supreme Court, in a landmark decision, ruled in Roe v Wade <br /> 27 that the US Constitution safeguards a woman's ability to make her own personal medical <br /> 28 decisions about whether and when to have children; and <br /> 29 <br /> 30 WHEREAS, in the Whole Woman's Health v Hellerstedt decision in 2016, the US <br /> 31 Supreme Court reaffirmed the constitutional right to access abortion; and <br /> 32 <br /> 33 WHEREAS, these decisions have saved lives, strengthened families, and enabled <br /> 34 women to participate more fully in society, and we must guard against efforts to erode the <br /> 35 availability and affordability of abortion and to undermine the protections affirmed by Roe <br /> 36 v Wade; and <br /> 37 <br /> 38 WHEREAS, the Hyde Amendment, passed by Congress on September 30, 1976, has for <br /> 39 44 years impeded access to abortion for low-income women enrolled in Medicaid; and <br /> 40 WHEREAS, North Carolina law imposes limits on insurance coverage of abortion in the <br /> 41 state Medicaid program; and <br /> 42 <br /> 43 WHEREAS, approximately 400,000 women in North Carolina (including more than 2,000 <br /> 44 in Orange County) who qualify for insurance coverage from the federal or state <br /> 45 government— including local, school district, state, and federal employees; veterans and <br /> 46 military service members; Native Americans who use the Indian Health Service; Peace <br /> 47 Corps members; persons incarcerated in federal prisons; and those who purchase <br /> 48 insurance through the Affordable Care Act— are subject to bans on insurance coverage <br /> 49 of abortion; and <br /> 50 <br /> 51 WHEREAS, the impact of health inequities and obstacles to quality health care fall <br />