LWVUS & LWVWI POSITIONS ON REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
LWVUS & LWVWI POSITIONS ON REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
All LWV advocacy is based on positions adopted by League membership after rigorous study and debate and, finally, consensus. Formal studies can be conducted and positions can be adopted at the appropriate level of LWV: either the national League (LWVUS) or the state League (LWVWI) or a county-level League (LWVMC). The national positions adopted over many decades are published/updated in a book titled "LWV IMPACT ON ISSUES. The 2022-2024 book is available on Amazon for $5; or you can access a pdf on our website ADVOCACY page, under "League Positions and Studies."
The LWVUS position on Repro Rights is in 2 places. It is only parenthetically referenced in the 2022-2024 LWV IMPACT ON ISSUES, under Social Policy/Health Care, beginning on page 137:
Every US resident should have access to a basic level of care that includes the prevention of disease, health promotion and education, primary care (including prenatal and reproductive health), acute care, long-term care, and mental health care.
The topic is more fully referenced in 2022-2024 LWV IMPACT ON ISSUES, under Representative Gov't./Citizens' Rights/Public Policy on Reproductive Choices, beginning on page 57:
PUBLIC POLICY ON REPRODUCTIVE CHOICES
The League’s Position Statement of Position on Public Policy on Reproductive Choices, as announced by the national board, January 1983: The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that public policy in a pluralistic society must affirm the constitutional right of privacy of the individual to make reproductive choices. League History The 1982 Convention voted to develop a League position on Reproductive Choices through concurrence. That fall, League members studied the issue and agreed to concur with a statement derived from positions reached by the New Jersey and Massachusetts Leagues. LWVUS announced the position in January 1983...[the history goes on for more than 3 pages]
Note that the position is grounded in a constitutional right to privacy, which was nullified by the SCOTUS Dobbs decision.