BILL NUMBER: SJR 19INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Senator Jackson (Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Atkins and Cristina Garcia) AUGUST 26, 2015 Relative to Planned Parenthood. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SJR 19, as introduced, Jackson. Planned Parenthood: funding. This measure would request the President and the Congress of the United States to express their support for access to comprehensive reproductive health care provided by Planned Parenthood and oppose efforts to eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood. Fiscal committee: no. WHEREAS, Planned Parenthood is one of California's largest providers of women's health care and reproductive health care services, operating 115 community-based health centers across the state, which service over 1.6 million patient visits a year; and WHEREAS, Planned Parenthood provides comprehensive health care services to men and women, including well-woman exams, birth control, testing and treatment of sexually transmitted infections and HIV, pregnancy tests, life-saving cancer screenings, prenatal care, sex education, primary care services in some locations, and abortion services; and WHEREAS, Nationwide, during 4.6 million health center visits in 2013, Planned Parenthood provided services, including nearly 400,000 Pap smear tests, nearly 500,000 breast examinations, nearly 1.1 million pregnancy tests, nearly 3.6 million provisions of birth control information and services, and nearly 4.5 million tests and treatments for sexually transmitted illnesses (including HIV), to approximately 2.7 million patients, nearly 80 percent of whom were living with incomes at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level; and WHEREAS, By providing millions of women with access to contraceptive services, public funding of Planned Parenthood helps women to avoid an estimated 516,000 unplanned pregnancies each year nationwide; and WHEREAS, A sudden defunding of Planned Parenthood's publicly funded clinics by federal or state governments would put patients across California, particularly members of underserved communities, at a significant disadvantage relating to their general health care given that Planned Parenthood is often the only source of health care services for so many Californians; and WHEREAS, The State of California stands in strong opposition to recent attacks on Planned Parenthood and other health care providers that offer reproductive health care services; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature urges the President of the United States and Congress to express their support for access to comprehensive reproductive health care provided by Planned Parenthood and oppose efforts to eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.