Commemorating the 42nd Anniversary of the landmark United States Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade.

WHEREAS, On January 22, 1973 the United States Supreme Court, in a 7 to 2 vote, ruled that no state could deny a woman the right to an abortion until fetus viability, or in the first trimester of a pregnancy, and declared that doing so was unconstitutional; and

WHEREAS,

Roe v. Wade

is considered one of the most important and recognized abortion cases in the history of the United States because it is the only case the Supreme Court has considered and definitively ruled on ethics, religion and biology; and

WHEREAS, In 1973 most of the United States enforced harsh restrictions and bans on the practice of abortion; and

WHEREAS, These harsh restrictions forced many women to seek black market abortions that were performed by unlicensed physicians or themselves; and

WHEREAS, The

Roe v. Wade

ruling is the result of Norma Leah McCorvey's courageous decision to challenge a Texas statute that banned the practice of abortion unless it would save the life of the mother; and

WHEREAS, McCorvey originally filed a lawsuit challenging the Texas statute against the Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade in which it appeared before the Texas federal court and was ruled unconstitutional; and

WHEREAS, Unsatisfied with the court's decision, Wade filed for an appeal to the United States Supreme Court that reviewed the case from 1971 to 1972; and

WHEREAS, In 1973 the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of Ms. McCorvey and found the Texas statute to be unconstitutional because it violated her constitutional right to privacy; and

WHEREAS, The Court found that a woman's right to an abortion was protected under her “zone of privacy” that was guaranteed under the First, Fourth, Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments; and

WHEREAS, The

Roe v. Wade

decision was one of the first steps to ensuring that women have the agency and liberty to make choices about their bodies just as men do; and

WHEREAS, It is with the courageous efforts of Norma Leah McCorvey that many organizations such as Planned Parenthood, Women's Way, and the Philadelphia Women's Center can exist in order to ensure that Philadelphia women have access to safe and legal abortion services; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Hereby commemorates the 42nd Anniversary of the landmark United States Supreme Court decision

Roe v. Wade

.

End