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2 <br /> RES-2023-040 <br /> RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF SAFE AND LEGAL REPRODUCTIVE HEALTHCARE <br /> WHEREAS, access to a full range of reproductive care options, including safe and legal abortion, is a <br /> fundamental human right, and <br /> WHEREAS, following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs v. <br /> Jackson Women's Health Organization case, both houses of the North Carolina General Assembly <br /> passed SB20 on a party line vote to severely limit the rights of women, specifically their bodily autonomy, <br /> by reducing legally allowed abortions from twenty (20)weeks to twelve (12)weeks and reducing access <br /> to medication abortion to ten (10)weeks; and <br /> WHEREAS, SB20 also imposes new barriers to the provision of care that are not medically necessary, <br /> such as additional in-person appointments and new clinic requirements, and <br /> WHEREAS, creating barriers to reproductive healthcare, including abortions, will make it harder for the <br /> most vulnerable to access healthcare, which medical professionals say will lead to preventable deaths; <br /> and <br /> WHEREAS, despite the fact that the majority of North Carolinians support access to safe, legal abortion <br /> and despite the legislature's own bill filing rules, SB20 was released with little notice and no transparency, <br /> as GOP legislative leadership crafted this harmful bill behind closed doors with no opportunity for public <br /> comment; and <br /> WHEREAS, Orange County has a history of supporting full access to safe and legal reproductive health <br /> care, including abortion, for our residents and County employees and rejects in the strongest of terms <br /> SB20 and other laws aimed at limiting or denying access to abortion care. <br /> NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Orange County Board of Commissioners supports the <br /> right for all to access the full spectrum of reproductive healthcare, including abortion care, and <br /> BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Board of Commissioners commends Senator Graig Meyer and <br /> Representatives Allen Buansi and Renee Price for their votes against SB20; supports Governor Roy <br /> Cooper's decision to veto SB20; and encourages members of the General Assembly to uphold his veto <br /> when a vote to override occurs, and <br /> BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Board urges our elected officials at the North Carolina General <br /> Assembly to prioritize the healthcare needs of residents, to reject further attempts to limit abortion, and to <br /> increase investment in access to health care, affordable birth control including emergency contraception, <br /> and comprehensive age-appropriate sex education, and <br /> BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Board urges residents to speak out against these egregious attacks <br /> on bodily autonomy and make their views known to members of the North Carolina General Assembly. <br /> This the 16th Day of May, 2023. <br /> Jamezetta Bedford, Chair <br /> Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />