85R14160 E
By: Shaheen H.J.R. No. 104
A JOINT RESOLUTION
urging the Congress of the United States to propose for
ratification an amendment to the United States Constitution which
would prohibit, with one exception, the practice of abortion within
the United States or in any place subject to their jurisdiction or,
in the alternative, applying to Congress to call a convention,
pursuant to Article V of that Constitution, for the specific and
limited purpose of proposing such an amendment to that Constitution
for ratification.
WHEREAS, Innocent human life in the United States is entitled
to the protection of American laws which ought not to be abridged by
act of any legislative body or by any court's so-called
"interpretation" of the Constitution of the United States; and
WHEREAS, On January 22, 1973, the United States Supreme
Court, in the case of Roe v. Wade (410 U.S. 113), legalized abortion
on demand throughout the United States; and
WHEREAS, The actions of judicial bodies in this nation have
placed innocent human life in jeopardy by reason of age, biologic
development, or status as not yet born; and
WHEREAS, In the aforementioned Roe v. Wade decision, the
U.S. Supreme Court nullified the laws of Texas--and numerous other
states--relative to abortion and has misconstrued the
U.S. Constitution in a way that permits the destruction of unborn
human life; and
WHEREAS, Of the 27 amendments thus far incorporated into our
federal Constitution, four of them unmistakably were offered to
reverse decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court:
(1) The 11th Amendment invalidated Chisholm v. Georgia
(1793) by guaranteeing the immunity of states from lawsuits by
citizens of another state or a foreign country;
(2) The 14th Amendment voided Dred Scott v. Sandford
(1857) by guaranteeing the civil rights and citizenship of
African-Americans;
(3) The 16th Amendment overrode Pollock v. Farmers'
Loan and Trust Co. (1895) by expressly giving Congress the power to
levy an income tax; and
(4) The 26th Amendment abrogated Oregon v. Mitchell
(1970) by permitting individuals aged as young as 18 years to vote,
in all federal, state, or local elections--uniformly nationwide;
and
WHEREAS, Article V of the U.S. Constitution allows the
legislatures of the several states to apply to Congress for the
calling of a convention to propose an amendment to that
Constitution which amendment, if proposed and then ratified, would
put an end to indiscriminate abortion on demand; and
WHEREAS, Thus far, the legislatures of a number of states
have already applied to Congress for the calling of such a
convention to propose for ratification a federal constitutional
amendment that would reverse Roe v. Wade, and its progeny, and those
still-pending convention applications have been officially
received by Congress as follows:
(1) The General Assembly of the State of Indiana in
1973 (Senate Joint Resolution No. 8--Public Law No. 352) found with
its verbatim text published in the Congressional Record of January
21, 1974, at page 14, and duly referred to the United States
Senate's Committee on the Judiciary;
(2) The General Assembly of the State of Missouri in
1975 (Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 7) found with its verbatim
text published in the Congressional Record of May 5, 1975, at page
12867, and duly referred to the U.S. Senate's Committee on the
Judiciary;
(3) The General Assembly of the State of Arkansas in
1977 (House Joint Resolution No. 2) found with its verbatim text
published in the Congressional Record of May 20, 1977, at pages
15808 and 15809, and duly referred to the U.S. Senate's Committee
on the Judiciary;
(4) The General Court of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts in 1977 (unnumbered resolution) found with its
verbatim text published in the Congressional Record of July 1,
1977, at page 22002, and duly referred to the U.S. Senate's
Committee on the Judiciary;
(5) The Legislature of the State of New Jersey in 1977
(Senate No. 1271) found with its verbatim text published in the
Congressional Record of April 5, 1977, at page 10481, and duly
referred to the U.S. Senate's Committee on the Judiciary;
(6) The General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island
and Providence Plantations in 1977 (H-5159) found with its verbatim
text published in the Congressional Record of May 20, 1977, at pages
15808 (POM-188) and 15809 (POM-190), and duly referred to the
U.S. Senate's Committee on the Judiciary;
(7) The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of
Kentucky in 1978 (House [Concurrent] Resolution No. 7) found with
its verbatim text published in the Congressional Record of March
23, 1978, at page 8266, and duly referred to the U.S. Senate's
Committee on the Judiciary;
(8) The unicameral Legislature of the State of
Nebraska in 1978 (Legislative Resolution No. 152) found with its
verbatim text published in the Congressional Record of May 4, 1978,
at page 12694, and duly referred to the U.S. Senate's Committee on
the Judiciary;
(9) The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania in 1978 (House Bill No. 71 described as a "Joint
Resolution") found with its verbatim text published in the
Congressional Record of April 25, 1978, at page 11438, and duly
referred to the U.S. Senate's Committee on the Judiciary;
(10) The Legislature of the State of Mississippi in
1979 (House Concurrent Resolution No. 3) found with its verbatim
text published in the Congressional Record of February 26, 1979, at
page 3196, and duly referred to the U.S. Senate's Committee on the
Judiciary;
(11) The Legislature of the State of Nevada in 1979
(Senate Joint Resolution No. 27--File No. 117) found with its
verbatim text published in the Congressional Record of June 25,
1979, at page 16350, and duly referred to the U.S. Senate's
Committee on the Judiciary; and
(12) The Legislature of the State of Alabama in 1980
(Senate Joint Resolution No. 9--Act No. 80-281) found with its
verbatim text published in the Congressional Record of May 8, 1980,
at page 10650, and duly referred to the U.S. Senate's Committee on
the Judiciary; and
WHEREAS, While such amendatory proposals have been offered
over the years by some of its members, Congress has nevertheless not
acted upon the earnestly sought-after federal constitutional
amendment--and further prodding in that regard is obviously needed;
and
WHEREAS, In The Federalist No.85, Alexander Hamilton
advised that "[w]e may safely rely on the disposition of the State
legislatures to erect barriers against the encroachments of the
national authority" and the calling of a convention, as envisioned
in Article V of the U.S. Constitution, would be an example of what
Hamilton alluded to; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, By the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas,
Regular Session, 2017, that the Congress of the United States be
respectfully urged to propose, and submit for ratification, an
amendment to the United States Constitution that would overturn Roe
v. Wade and clearly prohibit the practice of abortion on
demand--with the exception of saving the life of the
mother--uniformly throughout the United States and in any place
subject to their jurisdiction; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That if Congress does not propose such an amendment
on its own initiative by December 31, 2018, then, in the
alternative, the 85th Texas Legislature, pursuant to Article V of
the U.S. Constitution, does hereby apply to Congress to call a
convention for the purpose of proposing just such a constitutional
amendment for ratification; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That Congress--or delegates to the convention, if
called--be encouraged to consider, ponder, mull over, and
contemplate the following recommended text, among any other
possibilities, for such a proposed federal constitutional
amendment:
"ARTICLE ___
"SECTION 1. With respect to the right to life, the
word 'person' as used in this Article and in the Fifth and
Fourteenth Articles of Amendment to this Constitution applies to
all human beings, irrespective of age, health, function, or
condition of dependency, including their unborn offspring at every
stage of such unborn offspring's biological development.
"SECTION 2. No unborn person shall be deprived of life by
any person; provided, however, that nothing in this Article shall
prohibit a law permitting only those medical procedures necessary
to prevent the death of the mother, as a result of the pregnancy,
and as determined by the opinions of at least two competent and
credentialed medical professionals.
"SECTION 3. The Congress, and the several states, shall
have power to enforce this Article by appropriate legislation.";
and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the convention application component of this
joint resolution be automatically rescinded if:
(1) Congress itself proposes for ratification the
desired federal constitutional amendment, either prior to, or
within 90 calendar days after, the legislatures of two-thirds of
the several states have made similar application requesting a
convention for the exclusive purpose of proposing such an
amendment;
(2) The U.S. Supreme Court officially rules that a
convention of this type cannot be limited exclusively to
consideration of only one particular proposed amendment covering
only one specific topic; or
(3) A convention assembled pursuant, in part, to this
joint resolution in some way, form, or fashion, strays from or
transcends the confined purpose and restricted subject matter as
specified in this joint resolution; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That, except as otherwise provided in this joint
resolution, its convention application component is hereby
established as a continuous and ongoing such application, in
accordance with Article V of the federal Constitution, until such
time as:
(1) The Texas Legislature deems fit to rescind it; or
(2) At least two-thirds of the legislatures of the
several states shall have similarly applied for a convention
strictly to propose a federal constitutional amendment limited to
the same subject matter and Congress shall have fully performed its
constitutionally-obligated duty to actually call that convention
when Congress is presented with valid applications from the
requisite number of state legislatures demanding that Congress do
so; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That, in a manner which would furnish confirmation
of delivery and tracking while en route, the Secretary of State of
the State of Texas shall transmit properly certified copies of this
joint resolution--pursuant to the Standing Rules of the United
States Senate, namely, Rule VII, paragraphs 4, 5, and 6--to the
Vice-President of the United States (in his capacity as presiding
officer of the U.S. Senate and addressed to him at Suite No. S-212
of the United States Capitol Building); to the Secretary and
Parliamentarian of the U.S. Senate; and to both United States
Senators representing Texas; accompanied by a cover letter to each
addressee drawing attention to the fact that it is the 85th Texas
Legislature's courteous, yet firm, request that the full and
complete verbatim text of this joint resolution be duly published
in the U.S. Senate's portion of the Congressional Record, as an
official memorial to the U.S. Senate, and that this joint
resolution be referred to whichever committee(s) of the U.S. Senate
that would have appropriate jurisdiction over this joint
resolution's subject matter; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That, in a manner which would furnish confirmation
of delivery and tracking while en route, the Secretary of State of
the State of Texas shall likewise transmit properly certified
copies of this joint resolution--pursuant to the Rules of the
United States House of Representatives, namely, Rule XII, clauses 3
and 7--to the Speaker, Clerk, and Parliamentarian of the U.S. House
of Representatives; and to all members of the U.S. House of
Representatives who represent districts in Texas; likewise
accompanied by a cover letter to each addressee drawing attention
to the fact that it is the 85th Texas Legislature's courteous, yet
firm, request that the substance of this joint resolution be duly
entered in the U.S. House of Representatives' portion of the
Congressional Record, as an official memorial to the U.S. House of
Representatives, and that this joint resolution be referred to
whichever committee(s) of the U.S. House of Representatives that
would have appropriate jurisdiction over this joint resolution's
subject matter.