Resolution 2022-32300 •
RESOLUTION NO. 2022-32300
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION •
OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, CONDEMNING THE UNITED
STATES SUPREME COURT'S DECISION IN DOBBS V.
JACKSON WOMEN'S HEALTH ORGANIZATION, WHICH
ELIMINATED AN ESTABLISHED RIGHT TO
REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM.IN THE UNITED STATES.
WHEREAS, in a 1973 landmark decision, Roe v. Wade, the United States
Supreme Court ("SCOTUS" or the "Court") established that the Due Process Clause of
the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides a fundamental "right to
privacy" that protects a pregnant person's liberty to choose whether or not to have an
abortion; and
WHEREAS, on June 14, 2022, in another landmark decision, Dobbs v. Jackson
Women's Health Organization, Justice Samuel Alito, writing for a five-Justice majority,
eliminated the constitutional right to abortion and handed the states the power to restrict
the procedure as they wish; and
WHEREAS, the Court's opinion delivered a wrecking ball to the constitutional right
to abortion, destroying the protections of Roe v. Wade, and utterly disregarding the ability
of all people to make private, personal decisions that shape their futures; and
WHEREAS, for the first time since the founding of our country, the Court issued a
ruling that expressly took away an established constitutional right of millions of
Americans; and
WHEREAS, without a doubt, the Dobbs decision will rank among the Court's most
infamous decisions, alongside Dred Scott v. Sandford, Plessy v. Ferguson, and
Korematsu v. United States, which, to this day, remain an embarrassing stain on our
country's history and represent repugnant denials of freedom for anyone who is not a
white man; and
WHEREAS, the decision in Dobbs is also devastating as it directly threatens other
established constitutional rights that are currently in peril, such as the right to same-sex
relationships and marriage, protected by Lawrence v. Texas, and Obergefell v. Hodges,
which were largely influenced by the private rights framework established in Roe; and
WHEREAS, in fact, Justice Clarence Thomas already outright threatened the
status of the right to contraception, same-sex relationships, and same-sex marriage in his
concurrence in Dobbs, calling for the Court to reconsider the decisions made in those
landmark cases; and
1
WHEREAS, several states' trigger laws banning or severely restricting abortion
access have already gone into effect since Roe was overturned, and other states' bans
will go into effect imminently, including possibly the state of Florida; and
WHEREAS, before Roe v. Wade, illegal abortions were estimated to range from
200,000 to 1.2 million per year, and constituted at least 17 percent of all maternal deaths
attributed to pregnancy and childbirth in 1965 alone'; and
WHEREAS, the legalization of abortion in the U.S. led to safer practices and
drastically reduced the incidence of maternal deaths and hospitalizations related to
abortion2; and •
WHEREAS, banning or severely restricting abortion will not stop abortions— it will
simply stop safe abortions, as many people will nonetheless choose to terminate their
pregnancies and will be forced to do so through unregulated, and potentially unsafe
means; and
WHEREAS, it cannot be overstated how damaging the Dobbs will be to the most
vulnerable members of our society, including women, and people of color; and
WHEREAS, as masterfully pointed out by the dissenting minority, led by Justice
Sonya Sotomayor, "women lacking financial resources will suffer from today's decision.
After this decision, some States may block women from traveling out of State to obtain
abortions, or even from receiving abortion medications from out of State. Some may
criminalize efforts, including the provision of information or funding, to help women gain
access to other States' abortion services;" and
WHEREAS, women living below the federal poverty line experience unintended
pregnancies at rates five times higher than higher income women do, and nearly half of
women who seek abortion care live in households below the poverty line; and
WHEREAS, by overturning Roe, the Court not only took away a constitutional right
but also condemned millions of people to forcibly bringing new life into the country that
offers no universal healthcare, no universal paid family leave, no universal childcare, no
adequate social safety nets, and no adequate and well-funded foster care system; and
WHEREAS, a landmark project called the Turnaway Study tracked nearly 1,000
women who either had an abortion or were turned away from clinics because their
pregnancy was too advanced, and the women who were forced to carry their pregnancy
1 Rachel Benson Gold,Lessons from Before Roe:Will Past Be Prologue?, GUTTMACHER INST.(March 2003),
https://www.guttmacher.org/gpr/2003/03/lessons-roe-will-past-be-prologue.
2 Susan A.Cohen, Facts and Consequences: Legality, Incidence and Safety of Abortion Worldwide, 12
GUTTMACHER POLICY REVIEW 2(2009),available at
https://www.g uttmacher.org/sites/default/files/article_files/gpr120402.pdf.
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to term were four times more likely to fall below the poverty line during the next five years,
reported poorer overall health and more chronic pain; and
WHEREAS, the City of Miami Beach has historically been at the forefront of
advancing, promoting, and protecting the rights of marginalized communities, including
reproductive rights; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Commission of the City of Miami Beach mourn for
countless family, friends, and fellow citizens who have lost their right to abortion care, and
strongly condemn the disastrous consequences of the craven political decision in Dobbs.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that the Mayor and City
Commission hereby strongly condemn the United States Supreme Court's decision in
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which eliminated an established right
to reproductive freedom in the United States.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this IV day of 51P4l41, , 2022.
Attest:
1\A Dan Gelber, Mayor
Rafael E. Granado, City Clerk SEP ^ .
INCORP ORATED
(Sponsored by Commissioner David Richardson)
PAN•.?.
• APPROVED AS TO
FORM & LANGUAGE
& FOR EXECUTION
r)-D - - l z- 1-2,
,City Attorney Date
3
Resolutions-C7 AE
MIAMI BEACH
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Rafael A. Paz, City Attorney
DATE: September 14, 2022
SUBJECT:A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF MIAMI
BEACH, FLORIDA, CONDEMNING THE UNITED STATES SUPREME
COURT'S DECISION IN DOBBS V. JACKSON WOMEN'S HEALTH
ORGANIZATION, WHICH ELIMINATED AN ESTABLISHED RIGHT TO
REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM IN THE UNITED STATES.
ANALYSIS
Pursuant to the request of Commissioner David Richardson, the above-referenced Resolution
is submitted for consideration by the Mayor and City Commission at the July 20, 2022
Commission meeting.
SUPPORTING SURVEY DATA
N/A
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
N/A
Is this a"Residents Right Does this item utilize G.O.
to Know" item, pursuant to Bond Funds?
City Code Section 2-14?
No No
Legislative Tracking
Office of the City Attorney
Sponsor
Commissioner David Richardson/Co-sponsored by Commissioner Rosen Gonzalez and Vice-
Mayor Fernandez
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Page 603 of 1700
o Resolution
Page 604 of 1700
Cardillo, Lilia
From: Cardillo, Lilia
Sent: Wednesday, September 21,2022 2:26 PM
To: Hernandez, Lana; Garces, Brian; Salinas, Monica
Cc: Rafael Granado; Barbou, Regis
Subject: Resolution 2022-32300
Attachments: Resolution 2022-32300.pdf
Please see attached Resolution No. 2022-32300, CONDEMNING THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT'S DECISION IN
DOBBS V.JACKSON WOMEN'S HEALTH ORGANIZATION,WHICH ELIMINATED AN ESTABLISHED RIGHT TO REPRODUCTIVE
FREEDOM IN THE UNITED STATES,which was passed and adopted by the Mayor and City Commissioners on September
14, 2022.
Thank you,
MIAMIBEACH
Lilia Cardillo,Agenda Coordinator
OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK
1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Tel: 305-673-7411/Fax: 786-394-4139/ext. 6780 liliacardillo@miamibeachfl.gov
We are committed to providing excellent public service and safety to all who live,work and play in our vibrant,tropical,
historic community
1
Cardillo, Lilia
From: Granado, Rafael
Sent: Wednesday, September 21,2022 3:12 PM
To: Cardillo, Lilia; Hernandez, Lana; Garces, Brian; Salinas, Monica
Cc: Barbou, Regis
Subject: RE: Resolution 2022-32300
Good afternoon,
You may wish to share this resolution with your Committees.
Regards,
MIAMIBEACH
sPnkSUPPORT BREAST
CANCER AWARENESS
Rafael E. Granado, Esq., City Clerk
OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK
1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Tel: 305.673.7411 rafaelgranado(a�miamibeachfl.gov
We are committed to providing excellent public service and safety to all who live, work and play in our vibrant, tropical,
historic community.
From: Cardillo, Lilia<LiliaCardillo@miamibeachfl.gov>
Sent:Wednesday,September 21, 2022 2:26 PM
To: Hernandez, Lana<LanaHernandez@miamibeachfl.gov>; Garces, Brian<BrianGarces@miamibeachfl.gov>;Salinas,
Monica<MonicaSalinas@miamibeachfl.gov>
Cc:Granado, Rafael<RafaelGranado@miamibeachfl.gov>; Barbou, Regis<RegisBarbou@miamibeachfl.gov>
Subject: Resolution 2022-32300
Please see attached Resolution No. 2022-32300, CONDEMNING THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT'S DECISION IN
DOBBS V.JACKSON WOMEN'S HEALTH ORGANIZATION,WHICH ELIMINATED AN ESTABLISHED RIGHT TO REPRODUCTIVE
FREEDOM IN THE UNITED STATES,which was passed and adopted by the Mayor and City Commissioners on September
14, 2022.
Thank you,
MIAMIBEACH
Lilia Cardillo,Agenda Coordinator
OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK
1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Tel: 305-673-7411/Fax: 786-394-4139/ext. 6780 Iiliacardillo@miamibeachfl.gov
We are committed to providing excellent public service and safety to all who live,work and play in our vibrant,tropical,
historic community
1