Why a State
Constitutional Amendment over a State Law?
First, have you ever heard
someone fight for their "Legislative Right?" - or was it
their "Constitutional Right?" There is a reason for
that. We are talking about pure raw
power! Only a constitutional amendment can properly protect
the God-given Right to Life of unborn
children. Congress and many legislatures have tried
laws but to no success and even if it could they could
just as easily repeal such laws at any time.
Secondly, any attempt to end abortion will
meet a certain date with destiny in the Federal Courts and
will be struck down if it's not capable of overturning Roe
v. Wade. Only ONE will survive! Either Roe
will prevail or the Personhood Amendment will. Only
a properly worded State Personhood Amendment has the pure
raw power to accomplish the mission. A constitutional
amendment has much, much more weight than any law could
ever. It is even considered that weighty by Federal
judges and Supreme Court Justices because it was enacted
(voted on) by the will of the people. It is simply
considered the highest form of political expression and
highest form of protection of people's rights.
Establishing personhood for the unborn can only be
realistically done through a State Personhood Amendment.
Why a State
Personhood Amendment instead of a Federal one?
The big issue with state legislatures and
Congress is that they are all very fragmented on Pro-Life. They
cannot even agree on one Pro-Life view so agreeing on an
amendment that would protect all unborn children is just
not likely. There has been hundreds of Personhood Amendments (aka Human Life Amendments)introduced into Congress in the
past 35 years but they have all gotten nowhere. This
is one of those situations where the People have to take
it into their hands, bypassing state legislatures and
Congress, in order to protect the Right to Life of unborn
children. Only some states allow a Constitutional
Initiative that allow the People to amend their state
constitution. This method has now become the primary
vehicle for change.
Two Ways to add a
State Personhood Amendment.
State Constitutional
Amendments normally are introduced through one's
State Legislature.
In some states a People's
Constitutional Initiative gives the People the
right to add to or alter their constitution by introducing
an amendment. This process normally goes through a
petition phase to gather enough signatures of voters to
put the amendment on a state-wide ballot vote. Both
the legislative route and the People's Initiative have to
be approved by the voters in a state-wide election, then
and only then would an amendment become a part of the
state constitution. The People's Initiative is a
preferred method over state legislatures because it goes
directly to the people at a grassroots level bypassing an
often, very divisive political landscape within a state
legislature. In other words, it's darn hard to get
a state legislature to agree on anything!
More about
State Constitutional Initiatives.
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ULTIMATE HUMAN LIFE AMENDMENT (2005)
ACTIVE
by
Pro-Life Dave, with
the
Pro-Life Generation.
PEOPLE'S
CONSTITUTIONAL INITIATIVE
STATUS:
ACTIVE
in 2009 as
Initiative 24.
Filed in 2005 as
Initiative 22 and 2007 as
Initiative
23. Both failed to gather required petition
signatures. The work continues on building support
year after year.
RESEARCH:
UHLA Drafting Notes & Commentary
Mississippi Constitution |
Last
Updated:
June 1, 2009 |
| We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
persons are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that
among these are the Right to Life, that is, the Right
to not have one’s life taken from them. Therefore, the
government of the state of Mississippi shall recognize
and defend the God-given Right to Life of all persons
equally in accordance with Section 14 of the State
Constitution of 1890. The word "person" shall apply to
all human beings, regardless of race, color, creed,
religion, citizenship, ancestry, national origin, sex,
age, health, function, or condition of dependency, at
all stages of biological development from
fertilization until natural death. No person shall
deprive another person of life by assisting or aiding
in their suicide. No person shall deprive an unborn
person of life; provided, however, that nothing in
this amendment shall prohibit a law allowing
justification to be shown for only those medical
procedures required to prevent the death of either the
pregnant woman or her unborn offspring as long as such
law requires every reasonable effort be made to
preserve the life of each.
No designated funds are required to implement this
amendment. |
Section 14. Due process. - Mississippi Constitution
"No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or
property except by due process of law." |
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MICHIGAN CITIZENS FOR LIFE
(2006)
INACTIVE
by Cal Zastrow,
Michigan Citizens for Life
PEOPLE'S
CONSTITUTIONAL INITIATIVE
STATUS:
Failed to
gather required signatures.
RESEARCH:
Michigan Constitution |
Last
Updated:
June 1, 2009 |
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The right to due process, whereby no person shall be
deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process
of law, guaranteed in Article 1 Section 17, and the right
to equal protection of the law, guaranteed in Article 1,
Section 2, vest at conception.
A 'person' for the purposes of the Constitution and
laws of the State of Michigan, exists from the moment of
conception." |
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GEORGIA HUMAN LIFE AMENDMENT
(2007)
Introduced by
Georgia
Right to Life,
written by the
Thomas More Law Center.
LEGISLATIVE AMENDMENT
STATUS:
SEE CURRENT
Georgia RTL has been building
support over the years.
See
www.Personhood.Net |
Last
Updated:
June 1, 2009 |
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The rights of every person shall be recognized, among
which in the first place is the inviolable right of every
innocent human being to life. The right to life is the
paramount and most fundamental right of a person. With
respect to the fundamental and inalienable rights of all
persons guaranteed in this Constitution, the word 'person'
applies to all human beings, irrespective of age, race,
sex, health, function, or condition of dependency,
including unborn children at every state of their
biological development, including fertilization. |
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COLORADO PERSONHOOD AMENDMENT
(2008)
INACTIVE
by
Kristi
Burton,
Campaign Site:
Colorado for Equal Rights
PEOPLE'S
CONSTITUTIONAL INITIATIVE
STATUS:
Gathered Required
Petition Signatures, Voted down 3 to 1 by Voters.
RESEARCH:
Colorado Constitution |
Last
Updated:
June 1, 2009 |
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Be it Enacted by the People of the State of Colorado:
SECTION 1. Article II of the constitution of the state
of Colorado is amended BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION to
read:
Section 31. Person defined. As used in sections 3, 6,
and 25 of Article II of the state constitution, the terms
"person" or "persons" shall include any human being from
the moment of fertilization. |
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MONTANA RIGHT TO
LIFE INITIATIVE
(2008)
ACTIVE
by
Montana ProLife Coalition.
LEGISLATIVE AMENDMENT
STATUS:
2009: Legislative
Amendment in Progress,
click here for more details.
RESEARCH:
Montana Constitution
PEOPLE'S CONSTITUTIONAL
INITIATIVE
STATUS:
2009:
July 2009 UPDATE
MontanaNewsStation.com
Reported on May 21st that Rick
Jore "submitted the paperwork to try again."
2008: People's
Constitutional Initiative #100, Failed
to gather required petition signatures.
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Last
Updated:
July 8, 2009 |
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Section 1. Article II, section 3, of The Constitution of
the State of Montana is amended to read:
"Section 3. Inalienable Right to life and inalienable
rights. (1) Every person has a paramount and fundamental
right to life.
(2) All persons are born created free and have certain
inalienable rights from the moment of conception. They
include the right to a clean and healthful environment
and the rights of pursuing life's basic necessities,
enjoying and defending their lives and liberties,
acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and
seeking their safety, health and happiness in all lawful
ways. In enjoying these rights, all persons recognize
corresponding responsibilities.
(3) As used in this article, "person" includes a human
being at all stages of human development or life,
including the state of fertilization, regardless of age,
health, level of functioning, or condition of
dependency.
(4) Subsections (1) and (3) and the language regarding
the moment of conception in subsection (2) must be
implemented by legislation."
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OREGON HUMAN LIFE AMENDMENT
(2008)
ACTIVE
by
Kelly
LeClaire
PEOPLE'S
CONSTITUTIONAL INITIATIVE
STATUS:
2008:
Filed as #30, Accepted
- ACTIVE
2007:
Filed as #83, Rejected in Process,
Re-Filed as #117, Rejected in Process
RESEARCH:
Oregon Constitution. |
Last
Updated:
June 1, 2009 |
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Section 46. Right to Life (1) The
rights of all people shall be recognized, among which in
the first place is the inviolable right of every innocent
human being to life. The right to life is the
paramount and most fundamental right of a person.
(2) With respect to the fundamental and
inalienable right to life guaranteed in this section of
the Constitution, the words "people" and "person" apply to
all human beings, irrespective of age, race, gender,
health, function, or condition of dependency, including
their unborn offspring at every stage of their biological
development, including fertilization.
(3) The Legislative Assembly shall enforce,
by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this
section. |
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MARYLAND PERSONHOOD AMENDMENT
(2009)
ACTIVE
More info:
MDPersonhood.com
LEGISLATIVE AMENDMENT
STATUS:
2009:
See Bill Activity & Details |
Last
Updated:
June 1, 2009 |
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THAT THE RIGHT NOT TO BE DEPRIVED OF LIFE IS VESTED IN ALL
HUMAN BEINGS, IRRESPECTIVE OF AGE, HEALTH, FUNCTION,
PHYSICAL DEPENDENCY, OR METHOD OF REPRODUCTION, FROM THE
BEGINNING OF THEIR BIOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT. |
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GEORGIA HUMAN LIFE
AMENDMENT
(2009)
ACTIVE
LEGISLATIVE AMENDMENT
STATUS:
2009:
Introduced in Georgia House,
HR5 |
Last
Updated:
June 1, 2009 |
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Paramount right to
life. (a) The rights of every person shall be recognized,
among which in the first place is the right of every
innocent human being to life. The right to life is the
paramount and most fundamental right of a person. (b) With
respect to the fundamental and inalienable rights of all
persons guaranteed in this Constitution, the word 'person'
applies to all human beings, irrespective of age, race,
sex, health, function, or condition of dependency,
including unborn children at every state of their
biological development, including fertilization
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MISSISSIPPI PERSONHOOD
AMENDMENT
(2009)
ACTIVE
Introduced by Leslie Riley,
Personhood Mississippi.
Written by
Steve Crampton,
Liberty
Counsel.
PEOPLE'S
CONSTITUTIONAL INITIATIVE
STATUS:
2009:
Initiative 26. |
Last
Updated:
June 1, 2009 |
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Section 33. Person
Defined. As used in this Article III of the state
constitution, "The term 'person' or 'persons' shall
include every human being from the moment of
fertilization, cloning, or the functional equivalent
thereof."
This initiative shall not require any additional revenue
for implementation.
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Article III of the MS
Constitution is the MS
Bill of Rights.
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COLORADO PERSONHOOD
AMENDMENT
(2009)
ACTIVE
by
Colorado Right to Life and
Personhood
Colorado.
PEOPLE'S
CONSTITUTIONAL INITIATIVE
STATUS:
Filed
July 2nd.
RESEARCH:
Colorado Constitution, See previous
Colorado 2008. |
Last
Updated:
July 3, 2009
Video Press Release |
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Section 1. Article II of
the constitution of the state of Colorado is amended by
the addition of a new section to read: Section 32. Person
defined. As used in sections 3, 6, and 25 of Article II of
the state constitution, the term "person" shall apply to
every human being from the beginning of the biological
development of that human being.
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Article II of the CO Constitution is the CO
Bill of Rights.
wording source:
9News.com
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