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ENGROSSED SENATE
JOINT
RESOLUTION NO. 17 By: Bullard, Bergstrom, Dahm,
Allen, Merrick, and Jett of
the Senate
and
Crosswhite Hader of the
House
[ proposed amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution -
rights of unborn persons - ballot title - filing ]
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
2ND SESSION OF THE 58TH OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE:
SECTION 1. The Secretary of State shall refer to the people for
their approval or rejection, as and i n 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 rights
of born persons. The State of Oklahoma finds that:
1. The life of each person begins at conception;
2. Unborn persons have protectable interest s in life, liberty,
the pursuit of happiness , and the enjoyment of the gains of their
own industry; and
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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:
1. “Abortion” means the use or prescription of any instrument,
medicine, drug, or any other substance or device intentionally to
terminate the pregnancy of a female known to be pregnant with an
intention other than to increase the probab ility of a live birth, to
preserve the life or health of the child after live birth, to remove
an ectopic pregnancy, or to remove a dead unborn child who died as
the result of a spontaneous miscarriage, accidental traum a, or a
criminal assault on the pregn ant female or her unborn child ; and
2. “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 including but not limited to the Equal
Protection Clause of Amendment XIV of the United States Constitution
and the Due Process Clauses of 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
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immunities available to other persons, citizen s, and residents of
this state, in accordance with the Constitution of the United States
and the Oklahoma Constitution .
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 .
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. The exception provided by this paragraph
shall not include 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, upon conviction, be
guilty of manslaughter in the first degree.
F. This section shall only apply to ab ortions performed in this
state. Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect an
abortion performed out-of-state. No woman shall be involuntarily
tracked or monitored due to pregnan cy or perceived pregnancy.
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G. Nothing in this section shall be inte rpreted as creating a
cause of action against a woman for indirectly harming her unborn
child by failing to properly care for herself or by failing to
follow any particular program of pren atal care.
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 FOLLOW S:
This measure would add a new section to the Oklahoma
Constitution. It would add S ection 2A to Article 2. It states
that the rights of unborn persons are equal to those of born
persons and directs that the laws of this state be read 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 conception. It also defines abortion as the use or
prescription of any substance or device intentional ly to end the
pregnancy of a female known to be pregnant except to increase
the chance of live birth, to save the life or health of the
child after live birth, to remove an ectopic pregnancy, or to
remove a dead unborn child who died as the result of a natural
miscarriage, accidental trauma, or a criminal assault on the
pregnant female or her unborn child . This measure declares that
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unborn persons and their parents have certain protectable
interests. It states that nothing in the Oklahoma Constitution
secures or protects the right t o perform or receive an abortion,
and that nothing in the Oklahoma Constitution prevents, undoes,
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. It
classifies a violation of this prohibition as first degree
manslaughter. 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 this resolution, prepare and file
one copy thereof, including the Ballot T itle set forth in SECTION 2
hereof, with the Secretary of State and one copy with the Attorney
General.
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Passed the Senate the 10th day of March, 2022.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
Passed the House of Representatives the ____ day of __________,
2022.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives