The Prince George’s County Council, during session on Tuesday, July 5, 2022, adopted CR-083-2022, condemning the recent Supreme Court ruling reversing Roe v. Wade and overturning women’s constitutional right to an abortion.   

Council Chair Calvin S. Hawkins, II, says the Supreme Court decision signals a crisis in America.   

“For a half-century, women’s reproductive rights were protected by our Constitution.  Erasing critical safeguards for the health, safety and privacy of women, this decision, issued on the heels of a ruling expanding gun rights, raises deep concerns about the direction of the Supreme Court and the consequences of its actions for underserved communities."

District 1 Council Member Thomas E. Dernoga, who sponsored the Council legislation, thanked Council staff for their efforts to expedite the measure.

“The Dobbs decision threatens women’s health, and it is the first step in eroding the right to privacy, and many other rights, Women deserve the right to make their own health care decisions and we will continue to advocate with them on this important issue.”

The Council Resolution reads, in part:

WHEREAS, the decision by the United States Supreme Court evokes an assault on the civil liberties of women and birthing persons; and 

WHEREAS, the ideals of a civil and democratic society are meant to afford freedoms to all, not the select few; and WHEREAS, as the autonomy of any persons is revoked, those affected with all certainty become unequal under the law; and 

WHEREAS, the Supreme Court upheld reproductive autonomy and privacy for men in 1942; and 

WHEREAS, abortion is a cornerstone medical procedure for women and removing this right will only push abortions from safe medical procedures to unsafe back alley clinics, putting all women at risk, but disproportionally impacting Black women, Brown women, and poor women. 

WHEREAS, Black women are three times as likely to die by carrying a pregnancy to term as white women; and 

WHEREAS, the state of Maryland expanded access to abortion care by establishing the Abortion Care Clinical Training Program to ensure sufficient number of health professionals to provide abortion care in Maryland. 

Click HERE to read CR-083-2022 in its entirety.

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