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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
SENATE JOINT
RESOLUTION 17 By: Bullard
AS INTRODUCED
A Joint Resolution directing the Secretary of State
to refer to the people for their approval or
rejection a proposed amendmen t to the Oklahoma
Constitution by adding a new Section 2A to Article
II; equating the rights of unborn persons to those of
born persons; providing findings; defin ing term;
providing certain interpretation and construction;
prohibiting performance of aborti on; providing
exception; providing penalty; prohibiting certain
involuntary tracking or monitoring; pre cluding
certain cause of action; providing ballot title; and
directing filing.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
1ST SESSION OF THE 58TH OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE:
SECTION 1. The Secretary of State shall refer to the people for
their approval or rejection, as and in the manner provided by law,
the following proposed amendment to the Oklahoma Consti tution by
adding a new Section 2A to Article II to read as follows:
Section 2A. A. It being necessary for the liberty of free
persons, the rights of unborn persons shall be equal to the right s
of born persons. The State of Oklahoma finds that:
1. The life of each person begins at conception;
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2. Unborn persons have protectable interests in life, liberty,
the pursuit of happiness and the enjoyment of the gains of their own
industry; and
3. The natural parents of unborn persons have protectable
interests in the life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness of their
unborn child.
B. As used in this section, “unborn person” means the unborn
offspring of human beings from the moment of conceptio n, through
pregnancy and until live birth including the human conc eptus,
zygote, morula, blastocyst, embryo and fetus;
C. 1. Consistent with Amendments V and XIV of the United
States Constitution and pursuant to powers reserved to this state by
Amendment X of the United States Constitution, the laws of this
state shall be interpreted and construed to acknowledge on behalf of
the unborn person in utero, all the rights, privileges and
immunities available to other persons, citizen , and residents of
this state, subject only to the Constitution of the United States .
2. Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects the right
to perform or receive an abortion, nor shall any provision of this
Constitution be construed to preclude, invalidate or in any way
limit, a statute that prohibits abortion, regulates abortion or
regulates abortion differently from other acts or procedures .
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D. 1. No person in this state shall perform an abortion of an
unborn person in utero except as provided in paragraph 2 of this
subsection.
2. The prohibition provided by paragraph 1 of this subsection
shall not apply to an abortion that is necessary to prevent the
death of a pregnant woman, or to prevent substantial or irrevers ible
physical impairment of the pregnant woman that sub stantially
increases the risk of death. The prohibition provided by paragraph
1 of this subsection shall apply to an abortion performed solely on
the basis of the mental or emotional health of the pregnant woman.
E. Any person found guilty of performing an abortion in
violation of subsection D of this section shall be guilty of a
felony punishable by imprisonment for not less than one (1) year nor
more than three (3) years in the custody of the Departme nt of
Corrections.
F. This section shall only apply to ab ortions performed in this
state. Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect an
abortion sought out-of-state. No woman shall be involuntarily
tracked or monitored due to pregnancy or perceived pregnancy.
G. Nothing in this section shall be inte rpreted as creating a
cause of action against a woman for indir ectly harming her unborn
child by failing to properly care for herself or by failing to
follow any particular program of prenatal care.
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SECTION 2. The Ballot Title for the prop osed Constitutional
amendment as set forth in SECTION 1 of this resolution shall be in
the following form:
BALLOT TITLE
Legislative Referendum No. ____ State Question No. ____
THE GIST OF THE PROPOSITION IS AS FOLLOWS :
This measure would add a new section to the Oklahoma
Constitution. It would add Section 2A to Article 2. It
provides that the rights of unborn persons are equal to those of
born persons and directs that the laws of this state be
interpreted and constr ued as such. This measure declares that
life begins at conception and defines an unborn person as the
offspring of human beings from the moment of con ception. It
declares that unborn persons and their parents have certain
protectable interests . This measure states that nothing in th e
Oklahoma Constitution secures or protects the right to perform
or receive an abortion, and that nothing in the Oklahoma
Constitution precludes , invalidates or limits any state law that
prohibits or regulates abortion. This measure prohibits the
performance of abortion, except an abortion necessary to prevent
the death of a pregnant woman, or to prevent substantial or
irreversible physical impairment of the pregnant woman that
substantially increases the risk of death . It classifies a
violation of this prohibition as a felony and provides a penalty
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of one (1) to three (3) yea rs in the custody of the Department
of Corrections for such violation. This measure prohibits the
involuntary tracking or monitoring of a woman due to pregnancy
or perceived pregnancy. It states that it does not create a
cause of action against a pregnant woman.
SHALL THE PROPOSAL BE APPROVED?
FOR THE PROPOSAL — YES _____________
AGAINST THE PROPOSAL — NO _____________
SECTION 3. The President Pro Tempore o f the Senate shall,
immediately after the passage of thi s resolution, prepare and file
one copy thereof, including the Ballot Title set forth in SECTION 2
hereof, with the Secretary of State and one copy with the Attorney
General.
58-1-126 DC 1/21/2021 11:43:14 AM