Tampa DSA’s Abortion Rights City Council Resolution
Update: Motion to vote on language submitted by Councilmember Hurtak, Councilmembers Maniscalco and Gudes motion to postpone until 08/18/2022 at 5:00 PM. Maniscalco-Gudes motion carries 4-1, Hurtak votes no.
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Tampa honors the rights of pregnant people to bodily autonomy and control over their private medical decisions; and
WHEREAS, access to safe and legal abortion is a deciding factor in long-term health, safety, and quality of life; and
WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of the United States hasoverturned the 1973 landmark ruling, Roe v. Wade, which previously prevented individual states from directly banning such care; and
WHEREAS, on April 14, 2022, Florida Governor Ron Desantis signed into law HB 5, which effective July 1st, criminalizes access to abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy; and
WHEREAS, Article I Section 23 of Florida’s State constitution guarantees all Floridians a Right of Privacy, a right that the Florida Supreme Court, in In re T.W., 551 So. 2d 1186 (Fla. 1989) ruled also extends to protecting the right to abortion. Article I Section 23 states, “Every natural person has the right to be left alone and free from governmental intrusion into the person’s private life…:”;
WHEREAS, anti-abortion clinics, commonly known as “crisis pregnancy centers” or “pregnancy resource centers”, use deceptive tactics and propaganda to dissuade people from seeking abortion services. These anti-abortion clinics don’t provide abortions, don’t offer a full range of reproductive healthcare, and are explicitly opposed to legal abortion;
WHEREAS, people have a basic human right to medical treatment, up to and including abortion; and
WHEREAS, eliminating legal access to abortion has been empirically proven to dramatically increase the risk of death, bodily injury, and infertility, especially within low-income communities and communities of color; and
WHEREAS, the resources of the City of Tampa must always be dedicated to the health and well-being of its residents; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has demonstrated its commitment to abortion access in Resolution No. 2019-837, wherein the City Council supported the Federal Medicare for All Act of 2019 which includes “reproductive care;” and
WHEREAS, the right to privacy should protect doctors, patients, and all others providing abortion-related medical care from any criminal investigation related to decisions made within the healthcare provider-patient relationship so long as those decisions occur without coercion, force, or negligence; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Tampa has a responsibility to protect its residents from any violation of their human rights and any criminalization of the free exercise thereof;
NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TAMPA, FLORIDA:
That the City Council of the City of Tampa formally condemns any action intended to abrogate the fundamental liberties of its people and affirms its commitment to protecting the right of its residents to make reproductive health decisions, including abortion care, for themselves.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That the City Council of the City of Tampa will not approve the appropriation of funds for any action or activity that would abrogate or criminalize the rights of its residents to make reproductive health decisions, including abortion, for themselves. This further includes but is not limited to;
● Storing or cataloging any report of an abortion, miscarriage, or other reproductive healthcare act;
● Providing information to any other governmental body or agency about any abortion, miscarriage, or other reproductive healthcare act, unless such information is provided to defend the patient’s right to abortion care or the healthcare provider’s right to provide that care; or
● Conducting surveillance or collecting information related to an individual or organization for the purpose of determining whether an abortion has occurred, except for aggregated data without personally identifying information.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
The policy stated above does not apply in cases where coercion or force is used against the pregnant person, or in cases involving conduct criminally negligent to the health of the pregnant person seeking care.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That the City Council of the City of Tampa will not approve the appropriation of funds for any organization or entity operating a “crisis pregnancy center” or “pregnancy resource center” that is established with the explicit purpose of opposing legal abortion and dissuading pregnant people from seeking abortion services;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That the City Council of the City of Tampa’s approved appropriation of funds will reflect that the investigation or support for the prosecution of any allegation, charge, or information relating to any individual who seeks, provides, or supports abortion and abortion-related care will be the lowest priority for enforcement and the use of City resources and personnel.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That all proper officials of the City of Tampa are authorized to do all things necessary and proper in order to carry out and make effective the provisions of this Resolution.