CARRBORO, NC – The Town Council took action on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, to advocate for the right to safe and comprehensive reproductive rights and health care by unanimously adopting the “Reproductive Rights are Human Rights Resolution.”
The resolution condemns the criminalization of abortion and calls for the protection of reproductive healthcare in the United States and in North Carolina.
“The Carrboro Town Council has a history of supporting full access to safe, comprehensive reproductive health care — such as by unanimously adopting 'A Resolution Calling for Repeal of the Hyde Amendment and Supporting the Right of All Women to Safe and Comprehensive Health Care' in 2018 — and rejects in the strongest terms Senate Bill 20 and other legislation aimed at limiting or denying access to abortion.”
The Reproductive Rights are Human Rights Resolution states that the Carrboro Town Council:
- condemns the criminalization of abortion and condemns the criminalization of any circumstances or outcomes of a person’s pregnancy in the United States and in North Carolina
- affirms that all people deserve access to high-quality healthcare without fear of government interference or punishment
- affirms that reproductive rights and abortion rights are human rights
- urges state, county, and local municipalities that impose restrictions harmful to pregnant people to repeal those restrictions
- urges the North Carolina Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches to —
- repeal North Carolina’s criminal abortion laws and restrictions;
- prohibit the prosecution of people for having abortions or for any other circumstances or outcomes of their pregnancies;
- protect and guarantee full human rights, including the right to abortion care and reproductive healthcare, for all North Carolinians.
- affirm that North Carolina has an obligation to implement and protect human rights.
The Carrboro Town Council further resolved to encourage residents of Carrboro to speak out against these egregious attacks on bodily autonomy and make their views known to members of the NC General Assembly.
Read at the public meeting by Council Member Randee Haven O’Donnell, the Reproductive Rights are Human Rights Resolution is available at https://www.carrboronc.gov/2630/Proclamations-and-Resolutions Watch the meeting video at https://www.youtube.com/live/rAuw8_iSopY?si=3pxKvXte5qGOgE7z