For Immediate Release:
January 22, 2020
Contact:
Matthew Nocella, 202.724.8105 - mnocella@dccouncil.us
Government Operations Committee unanimously approves Councilmember Grosso’s bill to protect reproductive health rights in the District of Columbia
Statement of Councilmember David Grosso
Washington, D.C. – The following is a statement from Councilmember David Grosso, member of the Committee on Government Operations, on today’s unanimous approval of his Strengthening Reproductive Health Protections Amendment Act of 2019 by the Committee on Government Operations:
“Today we celebrate 47 years of reproductive health freedom in the United States. On this day in 1973, the Supreme Court decided the landmark case Roe v. Wade, extending Constitutional protection to an individual’s decision to have an abortion. However, states across the country–emboldened by an anti-choice president and Republican Senate majority that has radically reshaped the federal judiciary–seek to attack and weaken one’s right to make their own reproductive health choices free from government interference. It is more important than ever to enact policies that articulate a positive right protecting safe, legal abortion.
“Today, Committee on Government Operations set the District of Columbia on a path to join a growing movement of states that seek to positively and proactively protect the people’s right to make their own reproductive health decisions. My Strengthening Reproductive Health Protections Amendment Act of 2019 will enshrine a positive right to choose into the D.C. Human Rights Act, leaving no doubt that D.C. residents have the right, in consultation with their doctor and free from government interference, to make medical decisions about contraception, abortion, or carrying a pregnancy to term.
“I appreciate Councilmember Brandon Todd’s leadership of the Committee on Government Operations and his swiftly advancing this legislation through the legislative process. I urge Chairman Mendelson to continue that momentum through quick consideration by the Committee of the Whole and full Council.
“Everyone deserves more access to health care, not less. We need lasting protection for reproductive health access now, no matter what happens in Congress, in other states, or in the courts. This bill will help to secure a future that safeguards abortion care and respects decision-making.”
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