10.90.010 Title and Purpose

(a) This Chapter shall be known as the "Access to Reproductive Health Care Facilities Ordinance." The City Council finds that every person in the City of San Mateo has a basic and fundamental right to privacy protected by the United States Constitution and explicitly guaranteed in California's Constitution, Article 1, Section 1, including the right to seek and obtain all health care services permitted under the laws of the State of California. Central to this right is the need to secure access to all reproductive health care services. Access to these services is a matter of critical importance not only to the individual, but also to the health and welfare of all residents of the City of San Mateo and the region. Intentional efforts to harass an individual or prevent that individual from exercising his or her right to seek and obtain reproductive health care services are therefore contrary to the interests of the people of San Mateo.

(b) In adopting this Ordinance, the San Mateo City Council recognizes both the fundamental constitutional right to assemble peaceably and to demonstrate on matters of public concern, as well as the right to seek and obtain health care services. This Ordinance promotes the full exercise of these rights and strikes an appropriate accommodation between them.

(c) This Ordinance is not intended to create any limited, designated, or general public fora. Rather it is intended to protect those who seek access to constitutionally protected reproductive health services from conduct which violates their rights while also protecting the rights of people who gather outside of reproductive health care facilities in the City to speak on matters of public concern.