RESOLUTION BY VIRGINIA DEMOCRATIC WOMEN’S CAUCUS:

WHEREAS, in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson the United States Supreme Court abandoned longstanding precedents and overturned Roe v. Wade as well as Planned Parenthood v. Casey; and

WHEREAS, there is no decision more important for a woman than whether and when to have children; and

WHEREAS, for more than 50 years the right of women to reproductive choice has been recognized and protected at the Federal level; and

WHEREAS, abortion is an essential reproductive health service and its availability is an important part of ensuring every American’s right to safe and accessible health care; and

WHEREAS, that right to a safe abortion has proven essential to the ability of women across this nation to protect their health, their lives, and the financial stability of their families; and

WHEREAS, that right to reproductive choice also impacts the liberty, health and financial security of transgender men and non-binary Americans; and

WHEREAS, it is not possible to ban abortion, but only to ban safe and legal abortions, as evidenced by the many people harmed or killed by illicit procedures in the years before Roe v. Wade; and

WHEREAS, limiting access to safe abortion has been shown to increase incidents of domestic abuse, and laws criminalizing abortion can have profoundly negative impacts on women who suffer miscarriages; and

WHEREAS, the negative impacts of limiting access to safe abortion disproportionately affect low-income women, women of color, transgender and non-binary Americans, and survivors of child abuse, sexual assault or domestic violence; and

WHEREAS, Roe v. Wade and its progeny were foundational decisions codifying the right to privacy, and their repeal places in jeopardy many other essential rights and freedoms enjoyed by the American people; and

WHEREAS, women’s reproductive rights are human rights and the majority of the American people support the right of women to make these personal decisions without the intervention of their government; and

WHEREAS, despite the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson the right to a safe abortion remains protected by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia as they currently stand, though that right has been and will continue to be under legislative attack in the General Assembly of Virginia; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE VIRGINIA DEMOCRATIC WOMEN’S CAUCUS, A CAUCUS OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF VIRGINIA, THAT:

1.    We reaffirm our opposition to the imposition of restrictions on reproductive choice by the governments of the Commonwealth or the United States, and stand in solidarity with women in states where abortion has become or soon will become illegal;

2.    We call upon the General Assembly of Virginia and the United States Congress to take such actions as may be necessary to protect the right to safe and legal abortion.

3.    We call upon the General Assembly of Virginia to codify the right to safe and legal abortion in the Virginia Code.