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Ordinance Amending TITLE 6: CONDUCT, ARTICLE I: REGULATED RIGHTS AND ACTIONS by creating a new CHAPTER 603: ENFORCEMENT LIMTATIONS REGARDING BANS OF CERTAIN REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES Enforcement Limitations Regarding Bans of Certain Reproductive Health Care Services.
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WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of the United States’ issued an Opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022) that has overturned its prior decision in Roe v. Wade (1973) and its progeny; and,
WHEREAS, after at the time of the issuance of this Opinion, bans on access to certain reproductive health care services, including abortion, have been proposed at the state and national levels; and,
WHEREAS, subject to certain expectations, the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act currently allows persons to seek access to reproductive health care services, including abortion, within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and,
WHEREAS, it is the intention of the City of Pittsburgh to decline participation in any such ban on access to reproductive health care services, and to codify and restate reproductive rights as they currently exist, to the fullest extent of its authority under the Home Rule Charter of the City of Pittsburgh.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The Pittsburgh City Code, Title Six: Conduct, Article I: Regulated Rights and Actions is hereby amended by adding Chapter 603 as follows:
Chapter 603: Enforcement Limitations Regarding Bans of Certain Reproductive Health Care Services.
§ 603.01. Definitions.
“Abortion” means the use of any means to terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman with knowledge that the termination by those means will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of the unborn child except that, for the purposes of this chapter, abortion shall not mean the use of an intrauterine device or birth control pill to inhibit or prevent ovulation, fertilization, or the implantation of a fertilized ovum within the uterus.
“Reproductive health care services” means all medical, surgical, counseling, or referral services relating to the human reproductive system, including but not limited to services relating to pregnancy, contraception, miscarriage, or the termination of a pregnancy.
§ 603.02. De-prioritization of Enforcement of Crimes Related to Obtaining Certain Reproductive Health Care Services.
If certain reproductive health care services, including abortion, ever becomes illegal nationwide or in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Council of the City of Pittsburgh instructs all city officials and law enforcement agencies to deprioritize enforcement of crimes related to providing or receiving these reproductive health care services, including abortion, any abortion-related crime to the fullest furthest extent possible.