WHEREAS:

            Women comprise more than half of the population of the United States and more than half the membership of AFSCME International and are solely responsible for childbearing; and

WHEREAS:

            Women who plan their pregnancies are more likely to seek prenatal care, improving their own health and the health of their children; and

WHEREAS:

            The United States of America ranks 30th in the world in its rate of maternal mortality and has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality among all developed nations; and

WHEREAS:

            Family planning services improve health care outcomes and wellness for women and families, access to family planning is directly linked to declines in maternal and infant mortality rates, and women who do not receive prenatal care are 3 to 4 times more likely to die after a live birth than are women who have received even minimal prenatal care; and

WHEREAS:

            Reproductive rights are human rights recognized in national law and in international human rights documents; and women’s reproductive rights are continually being eroded through restrictive laws; and court decisions intended for other specific purposes are being used to increase restrictions on women’s choices in reproductive decisions; and

WHEREAS:

            Contraception enables women to better prevent unintended pregnancies and plan for pregnancy when they do want to have a child, and publicly funded contraceptive services and supplies prevent nearly two million unintended pregnancies each year in the United States; and

WHEREAS:

            Nearly half of all unintended pregnancies end in abortion and abortion rates in the United States of America increase during times when contraception is less accessible to low-income women; and

WHEREAS:

            In addition to the primary purpose of allowing women to plan and prepare for pregnancy, other health benefits of contraception include reduced risk of endometrial and ovarian cancers, ectopic pregnancy, iron deficiency anemia related to heavy menstruation, osteoporosis, ovarian cysts, and pelvic inflammatory disease; and

WHEREAS:

            Racial and ethnic health disparities are particularly pronounced in reproductive health including disparities in rates of contraception usage, unintended pregnancies, maternal mortality, and sexually transmitted infections, and these disparities reveal significant barriers to access to sexual health care (including contraception), medical care, and medically accurate sexuality education; and

WHEREAS:

            A 2011 study by the National Women’s Law Center shows a record number of American women in poverty and without health insurance, including nearly 20 percent of all women of child bearing age; and

WHEREAS:

            The Affordable Care Act includes the Women’s Health Amendment, which was designed to require all insurance plans to cover, with no cost-sharing women’s preventive-health services. The WHA was intended to encompass family planning as well as other reproductive health care. If implemented as intended, the WHA has the potential to remove significant financial obstacles for women seeking reproductive health care and enhance access to family-planning services; and

WHEREAS:

            A majority of American voters believe that matters related to women’s reproductive rights, including contraception and abortion, are personal issues that should be decided by women with their families, health care providers, and/or clergy members.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:

            That AFSCME affirm that reproductive rights are issues of life and death for women, not mere matters of choice; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

            That AFSCME International urge all AFSCME councils and locals to educate their members about women’s health issues and urge them to fight anti-feminine health legislation in their states and communities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

            That AFSCME support access to safe and legal abortion, to effective birth control and emergency contraception, to reproductive health services and health education for all women; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED:

            That AFSCME oppose any attempts to restrict these rights through legislation, regulation or constitutional amendment, and support candidates and policies that will protect women’s reproductive health care.