CHARLES PARKIN
City Attorney
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
411 W. Ocean Boulevard, 9th Floor
Long Beach, CA 90802
Writer's Direct Dial: (562) 570-2215
Facsimile: (562) 436-1579
E-Mail: [email protected]
November 1, 2022
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
City of Long Beach
California
RECOMMENDATION:
C-1
GARY J. ANDERSON
Assistant City Attorney
DAWN A. MCINTOSH
Assistant City Attorney
Adopt Resolution of the City Council of the City of Long Beach In Opposition to the Proposed National Abortion Ban Legislation S.4840, the "Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act", and H.R.1080, the "Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act"; and referring said opposition to the Federal Legislative Committee for inclusion in the 2023 Federal Legislative Agenda. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
Pursuant to the City Council's request on October 11, 2022, this Resolution has been prepared and is submitted for the Council's review and consideration.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Approve recommendation.
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A22-03232
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Very truly yours,
CHARLES PARKIN, City Attorney
By ir~ V_,
MonicaJ.t:;
Deputy City Attorney
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OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
CHARLES PARKIN, City Attorney
411 W. Ocean Boulevard, 9th Floor
Long Beach, CA 90802
RESOLUTION NO.
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF LONG BEACH IN OPPOSITION TO THE
PROPOSED NATIONAL ABORTION BAN LEGISLATION
S.4840, THE “PROTECTING PAIN-CAPABLE UNBORN
CHILDREN FROM LATE-TERM ABORTIONS ACT”, AND
H.R.1080, THE “PAIN-CAPABLE UNBORN CHILD
PROTECTION ACT”; AND REFERRING SAID OPPOSITION
TO THE FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE FOR
INCLUSION IN THE 2023 FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE AGENDA
WHEREAS, S.4840, the proposed “Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act”, seeks to ban all abortions at or after 15 weeks with vaguely written "exceptions" for rape, incest, and saving the life of the mother, and this ban would apply to anybody who performs or attempts to perform abortions in California and throughout America; and
WHEREAS, under S.4840, all abortions at or after 15 weeks under the exceptions of rape, incest, and saving the life of the mother must be done in a manner which “in reasonable medical judgement provides the best opportunity for the unborn child to survive[,]" and this same legal standard has caused the end of the most common and safest second trimester abortion procedures in some states in favor of attempted deliveries, which are actually more dangerous to the pregnant person's health; and WHEREAS, under S.4840, any doctor who helps perform an abortion or attempted abortion at or after 15 weeks can be charged with a federal crime if their "reasonable medical judgement" that their patient's life is threatened is called into question in a court of law, and this type of language has even led to women in other states having to delay procedures and treatments as serious as chemotherapy so as not
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OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
CHARLES PARKIN, City Attorney
411 W. Ocean Boulevard, 9th Floor
Long Beach, CA 90802
to impact the health of their fetus; and
WHEREAS, any doctor who helps to perform an abortion or attempted abortion is also subject to civil actions and penalties under S.4840; and WHEREAS, H.R.1080, the propos ed “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act”, similarly seeks to establish a nationwide abortion ban by making it a criminal offense for anyone to perform or attempt to perform an abortion at or after 20 weeks; and
WHEREAS, H.R.1080 also provides the same vague “exceptions” for an abortion where necessary to save the life of the pregnant person or when the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest; and
WHEREAS, H.R.1080 would establish cr iminal penalties of a fine, a prison term of up to five years, or both, as well as civil penalties; and WHEREAS, these proposed laws at the federal level create arbitrary abortion cutoffs of 15 or 20 weeks justified by the false claim that a fetus can experience pain at those points in time; and
WHEREAS, according to the American Medical Association, fetuses cannot experience pain until at least 29 weeks, and the proposed legislation falsely refer to abortions at 15 or 20 weeks as "late term"; and
WHEREAS, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a "late term abortion" is an abortion that takes between 41 weeks and 41 weeks and 6 days of gestation, a period before which most babies have already been born, and after which elective abortions were illegal even before the overturning of Roe v.
Wade; and
WHEREAS, these proposed laws would endanger the health, freedom, and even the lives of pregnant people anywhere in the United States, and the havoc they would wreak on our maternal health system, beyond the pressure already caused by the overturning of Roe v. Wade, would be immense; and
WHEREAS, it is the duty of any city to protect its residents and, as such,
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OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
CHARLES PARKIN, City Attorney
411 W. Ocean Boulevard, 9th Floor
Long Beach, CA 90802
the City of Long Beach is opposed to these proposed nationwide abortion bans and affirms its position that government at any level should not interfere with women’s rights to make their own reproductive decisions;
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Long Beach resolves as follows:
Section 1. The City Council of the City of Long Beach does hereby oppose the proposed federal legislation S.4840, the “Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act”, and H.R. 1080, the “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act”, and refers this resolution to the Federal Legislative Committee for inclusion in the 2023 Federal Legislative Agenda.
Section 2. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by the City Council, and the City Clerk shall certify the vote adopting this resolution.
I hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was adopted by the City Council of the City of Long Beach at its meeting of , 2022, by the following vote:
Ayes: Councilmembers:
Noes: Councilmembers:
Absent: Councilmembers:
Recusal(s): Councilmembers:
City Clerk