Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Director's Name: Nan H. Rich
Department: County Commission
Information
Requested Action
title
MOTION TO ADOPT Resolution No. 2021-519, the title of which is as follows: (Commissioner Rich)
A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, URGING THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO TAKE ACTION SAFEGUARDING THE ACCESSIBILITY, AFFORDABILITY, AND SAFETY OF REPRODUCTIVE HEALTHCARE AND THE FUNDAMENTAL CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO ABORTION; OPPOSING THE LATEST EFFORTS OF SEVERAL U.S. STATES TO SEVERELY LIMIT OR BAN ABORTION; CONDEMNING CERTAIN DECEPTIVE PRACTICES OF “CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTERS”; DIRECTING THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR TO PROVIDE A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO THE OFFICIALS DESIGNATED HEREIN; AND PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
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Why Action is Necessary
Formal Board approval is necessary for the adoption of a Resolution.
What Action Accomplishes
Enables the adoption of the above Resolution.
Is this Action Goal Related
No
Previous Action Taken
Summary Explanation/Background
In the 1973 landmark decision, Roe v. Wade, the United States Supreme Court decided that the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides a fundamental “right to privacy” protecting a pregnant person’s liberty to choose whether to have an abortion or not. The constitutional right to abortion has been affirmed in subsequent Supreme Court cases, including Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992, and Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt in 2016.
The legalization of abortion in the United States led to safer practices and drastically reduced the incidence of maternal deaths and hospitalizations related to abortion. However, the Guttmacher Institute has observed that in 2021 states have enacted more than 100 abortion restrictions so far. This is the largest number of abortion restrictions ever enacted in a single year. The most restrictive anti-abortion law to date was passed by Texas on May 19, 2021. The Texas law threatens an individual’s fundamental right to privacy and the right to safe and legal access to abortion.
The State of Florida’s standard for privacy extends even further than the federal standard, as Article I, Section 23 of the Florida Constitution explicitly provides, in part, that “[e]very natural person has the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into the person’s private life…” The proposed Resolution states that the Broward County Board of County Commissioners (“Board”) condemns all unconstitutional proposed abortion bans and parental consent bills that may come before the 2022 session of the Florida Legislature. The Board believes that reproductive freedom for all must be protected and expanded in the State of Florida.
Source of Additional Information
Harrison Grandwilliams, Chief of Staff, District 1, 954-357-7001
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Impact/Cost Summary
None.