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Eugene City Council Votes To Condemn Abortion Bans

Melorie Begay/KLCC News

The City of Eugene now has the authority to file amicus briefs in federal lawsuits that ban abortions. That’s in accordance with a new resolution city councilors approved Monday night. 

Tougher restrictions on abortions seen in Alabama coupled with a conservative leaning Supreme Court and the Trump Administration, are all cause for concern, said Councilor Claire Syrett. Syrett introduced the resolution with the support of the advocacy group NARAL Pro-Choice America.

“It adds our voice to those who oppose ending Roe v. Wade and the protections that are enshrined there. And it directs our city manager to have our city attorney to join those amicus briefs, which can help support winning at the Supreme Court if it should come to that,” said Syrett.

Amicus briefs are supplementing documents that allow uninvolved parties to offer insight and  expertise in legal cases.

The resolution passed 6-0 with Councilors Mike Clark and Alan Zelenka absent. During public comment, those opposed to the measure cited morality and touted other anti-abortion options.

Melorie Begay is a multimedia journalist for KLCC News. She was the Inaugural KLCC Public Radio Foundation Journalism Fellow. She has a bachelors in Multimedia Journalism from the University of New Mexico. She previously interned at KUNM public radio in Albuquerque, NM and served as a fellow for the online news publication New Mexico In Depth.