Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HJR104 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R14160 E
2	2	By: Shaheen H.J.R. No. 104
3	3
4	4
5	5	A JOINT RESOLUTION
6	6	urging the Congress of the United States to propose for
7	7	ratification an amendment to the United States Constitution which
8	8	would prohibit, with one exception, the practice of abortion within
9	9	the United States or in any place subject to their jurisdiction or,
10	10	in the alternative, applying to Congress to call a convention,
11	11	pursuant to Article V of that Constitution, for the specific and
12	12	limited purpose of proposing such an amendment to that Constitution
13	13	for ratification.
14	14	WHEREAS, Innocent human life in the United States is entitled
15	15	to the protection of American laws which ought not to be abridged by
16	16	act of any legislative body or by any court's so-called
17	17	"interpretation" of the Constitution of the United States; and
18	18	WHEREAS, On January 22, 1973, the United States Supreme
19	19	Court, in the case of Roe v. Wade (410 U.S. 113), legalized abortion
20	20	on demand throughout the United States; and
21	21	WHEREAS, The actions of judicial bodies in this nation have
22	22	placed innocent human life in jeopardy by reason of age, biologic
23	23	development, or status as not yet born; and
24	24	WHEREAS, In the aforementioned Roe v. Wade decision, the
25	25	U.S. Supreme Court nullified the laws of Texas--and numerous other
26	26	states--relative to abortion and has misconstrued the
27	27	U.S. Constitution in a way that permits the destruction of unborn
28	28	human life; and
29	29	WHEREAS, Of the 27 amendments thus far incorporated into our
30	30	federal Constitution, four of them unmistakably were offered to
31	31	reverse decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court:
32	32	(1) The 11th Amendment invalidated Chisholm v. Georgia
33	33	(1793) by guaranteeing the immunity of states from lawsuits by
34	34	citizens of another state or a foreign country;
35	35	(2) The 14th Amendment voided Dred Scott v. Sandford
36	36	(1857) by guaranteeing the civil rights and citizenship of
37	37	African-Americans;
38	38	(3) The 16th Amendment overrode Pollock v. Farmers'
39	39	Loan and Trust Co. (1895) by expressly giving Congress the power to
40	40	levy an income tax; and
41	41	(4) The 26th Amendment abrogated Oregon v. Mitchell
42	42	(1970) by permitting individuals aged as young as 18 years to vote,
43	43	in all federal, state, or local elections--uniformly nationwide;
44	44	and
45	45	WHEREAS, Article V of the U.S. Constitution allows the
46	46	legislatures of the several states to apply to Congress for the
47	47	calling of a convention to propose an amendment to that
48	48	Constitution which amendment, if proposed and then ratified, would
49	49	put an end to indiscriminate abortion on demand; and
50	50	WHEREAS, Thus far, the legislatures of a number of states
51	51	have already applied to Congress for the calling of such a
52	52	convention to propose for ratification a federal constitutional
53	53	amendment that would reverse Roe v. Wade, and its progeny, and those
54	54	still-pending convention applications have been officially
55	55	received by Congress as follows:
56	56	(1) The General Assembly of the State of Indiana in
57	57	1973 (Senate Joint Resolution No. 8--Public Law No. 352) found with
58	58	its verbatim text published in the Congressional Record of January
59	59	21, 1974, at page 14, and duly referred to the United States
60	60	Senate's Committee on the Judiciary;
61	61	(2) The General Assembly of the State of Missouri in
62	62	1975 (Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 7) found with its verbatim
63	63	text published in the Congressional Record of May 5, 1975, at page
64	64	12867, and duly referred to the U.S. Senate's Committee on the
65	65	Judiciary;
66	66	(3) The General Assembly of the State of Arkansas in
67	67	1977 (House Joint Resolution No. 2) found with its verbatim text
68	68	published in the Congressional Record of May 20, 1977, at pages
69	69	15808 and 15809, and duly referred to the U.S. Senate's Committee
70	70	on the Judiciary;
71	71	(4) The General Court of the Commonwealth of
72	72	Massachusetts in 1977 (unnumbered resolution) found with its
73	73	verbatim text published in the Congressional Record of July 1,
74	74	1977, at page 22002, and duly referred to the U.S. Senate's
75	75	Committee on the Judiciary;
76	76	(5) The Legislature of the State of New Jersey in 1977
77	77	(Senate No. 1271) found with its verbatim text published in the
78	78	Congressional Record of April 5, 1977, at page 10481, and duly
79	79	referred to the U.S. Senate's Committee on the Judiciary;
80	80	(6) The General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island
81	81	and Providence Plantations in 1977 (H-5159) found with its verbatim
82	82	text published in the Congressional Record of May 20, 1977, at pages
83	83	15808 (POM-188) and 15809 (POM-190), and duly referred to the
84	84	U.S. Senate's Committee on the Judiciary;
85	85	(7) The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of
86	86	Kentucky in 1978 (House [Concurrent] Resolution No. 7) found with
87	87	its verbatim text published in the Congressional Record of March
88	88	23, 1978, at page 8266, and duly referred to the U.S. Senate's
89	89	Committee on the Judiciary;
90	90	(8) The unicameral Legislature of the State of
91	91	Nebraska in 1978 (Legislative Resolution No. 152) found with its
92	92	verbatim text published in the Congressional Record of May 4, 1978,
93	93	at page 12694, and duly referred to the U.S. Senate's Committee on
94	94	the Judiciary;
95	95	(9) The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of
96	96	Pennsylvania in 1978 (House Bill No. 71 described as a "Joint
97	97	Resolution") found with its verbatim text published in the
98	98	Congressional Record of April 25, 1978, at page 11438, and duly
99	99	referred to the U.S. Senate's Committee on the Judiciary;
100	100	(10) The Legislature of the State of Mississippi in
101	101	1979 (House Concurrent Resolution No. 3) found with its verbatim
102	102	text published in the Congressional Record of February 26, 1979, at
103	103	page 3196, and duly referred to the U.S. Senate's Committee on the
104	104	Judiciary;
105	105	(11) The Legislature of the State of Nevada in 1979
106	106	(Senate Joint Resolution No. 27--File No. 117) found with its
107	107	verbatim text published in the Congressional Record of June 25,
108	108	1979, at page 16350, and duly referred to the U.S. Senate's
109	109	Committee on the Judiciary; and
110	110	(12) The Legislature of the State of Alabama in 1980
111	111	(Senate Joint Resolution No. 9--Act No. 80-281) found with its
112	112	verbatim text published in the Congressional Record of May 8, 1980,
113	113	at page 10650, and duly referred to the U.S. Senate's Committee on
114	114	the Judiciary; and
115	115	WHEREAS, While such amendatory proposals have been offered
116	116	over the years by some of its members, Congress has nevertheless not
117	117	acted upon the earnestly sought-after federal constitutional
118	118	amendment--and further prodding in that regard is obviously needed;
119	119	and
120	120	WHEREAS, In The Federalist No.85, Alexander Hamilton
121	121	advised that "[w]e may safely rely on the disposition of the State
122	122	legislatures to erect barriers against the encroachments of the
123	123	national authority" and the calling of a convention, as envisioned
124	124	in Article V of the U.S. Constitution, would be an example of what
125	125	Hamilton alluded to; now, therefore, be it
126	126	RESOLVED, By the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas,
127	127	Regular Session, 2017, that the Congress of the United States be
128	128	respectfully urged to propose, and submit for ratification, an
129	129	amendment to the United States Constitution that would overturn Roe
130	130	v. Wade and clearly prohibit the practice of abortion on
131	131	demand--with the exception of saving the life of the
132	132	mother--uniformly throughout the United States and in any place
133	133	subject to their jurisdiction; and, be it further
134	134	RESOLVED, That if Congress does not propose such an amendment
135	135	on its own initiative by December 31, 2018, then, in the
136	136	alternative, the 85th Texas Legislature, pursuant to Article V of
137	137	the U.S. Constitution, does hereby apply to Congress to call a
138	138	convention for the purpose of proposing just such a constitutional
139	139	amendment for ratification; and, be it further
140	140	RESOLVED, That Congress--or delegates to the convention, if
141	141	called--be encouraged to consider, ponder, mull over, and
142	142	contemplate the following recommended text, among any other
143	143	possibilities, for such a proposed federal constitutional
144	144	amendment:
145	145	"ARTICLE ___
146	146	"SECTION 1. With respect to the right to life, the
147	147	word 'person' as used in this Article and in the Fifth and
148	148	Fourteenth Articles of Amendment to this Constitution applies to
149	149	all human beings, irrespective of age, health, function, or
150	150	condition of dependency, including their unborn offspring at every
151	151	stage of such unborn offspring's biological development.
152	152	"SECTION 2. No unborn person shall be deprived of life by
153	153	any person; provided, however, that nothing in this Article shall
154	154	prohibit a law permitting only those medical procedures necessary
155	155	to prevent the death of the mother, as a result of the pregnancy,
156	156	and as determined by the opinions of at least two competent and
157	157	credentialed medical professionals.
158	158	"SECTION 3. The Congress, and the several states, shall
159	159	have power to enforce this Article by appropriate legislation.";
160	160	and, be it further
161	161	RESOLVED, That the convention application component of this
162	162	joint resolution be automatically rescinded if:
163	163	(1) Congress itself proposes for ratification the
164	164	desired federal constitutional amendment, either prior to, or
165	165	within 90 calendar days after, the legislatures of two-thirds of
166	166	the several states have made similar application requesting a
167	167	convention for the exclusive purpose of proposing such an
168	168	amendment;
169	169	(2) The U.S. Supreme Court officially rules that a
170	170	convention of this type cannot be limited exclusively to
171	171	consideration of only one particular proposed amendment covering
172	172	only one specific topic; or
173	173	(3) A convention assembled pursuant, in part, to this
174	174	joint resolution in some way, form, or fashion, strays from or
175	175	transcends the confined purpose and restricted subject matter as
176	176	specified in this joint resolution; and, be it further
177	177	RESOLVED, That, except as otherwise provided in this joint
178	178	resolution, its convention application component is hereby
179	179	established as a continuous and ongoing such application, in
180	180	accordance with Article V of the federal Constitution, until such
181	181	time as:
182	182	(1) The Texas Legislature deems fit to rescind it; or
183	183	(2) At least two-thirds of the legislatures of the
184	184	several states shall have similarly applied for a convention
185	185	strictly to propose a federal constitutional amendment limited to
186	186	the same subject matter and Congress shall have fully performed its
187	187	constitutionally-obligated duty to actually call that convention
188	188	when Congress is presented with valid applications from the
189	189	requisite number of state legislatures demanding that Congress do
190	190	so; and, be it further
191	191	RESOLVED, That, in a manner which would furnish confirmation
192	192	of delivery and tracking while en route, the Secretary of State of
193	193	the State of Texas shall transmit properly certified copies of this
194	194	joint resolution--pursuant to the Standing Rules of the United
195	195	States Senate, namely, Rule VII, paragraphs 4, 5, and 6--to the
196	196	Vice-President of the United States (in his capacity as presiding
197	197	officer of the U.S. Senate and addressed to him at Suite No. S-212
198	198	of the United States Capitol Building); to the Secretary and
199	199	Parliamentarian of the U.S. Senate; and to both United States
200	200	Senators representing Texas; accompanied by a cover letter to each
201	201	addressee drawing attention to the fact that it is the 85th Texas
202	202	Legislature's courteous, yet firm, request that the full and
203	203	complete verbatim text of this joint resolution be duly published
204	204	in the U.S. Senate's portion of the Congressional Record, as an
205	205	official memorial to the U.S. Senate, and that this joint
206	206	resolution be referred to whichever committee(s) of the U.S. Senate
207	207	that would have appropriate jurisdiction over this joint
208	208	resolution's subject matter; and, be it further
209	209	RESOLVED, That, in a manner which would furnish confirmation
210	210	of delivery and tracking while en route, the Secretary of State of
211	211	the State of Texas shall likewise transmit properly certified
212	212	copies of this joint resolution--pursuant to the Rules of the
213	213	United States House of Representatives, namely, Rule XII, clauses 3
214	214	and 7--to the Speaker, Clerk, and Parliamentarian of the U.S. House
215	215	of Representatives; and to all members of the U.S. House of
216	216	Representatives who represent districts in Texas; likewise
217	217	accompanied by a cover letter to each addressee drawing attention
218	218	to the fact that it is the 85th Texas Legislature's courteous, yet
219	219	firm, request that the substance of this joint resolution be duly
220	220	entered in the U.S. House of Representatives' portion of the
221	221	Congressional Record, as an official memorial to the U.S. House of
222	222	Representatives, and that this joint resolution be referred to
223	223	whichever committee(s) of the U.S. House of Representatives that
224	224	would have appropriate jurisdiction over this joint resolution's
225	225	subject matter.