Texas 2021 - 87th 1st C.S.

Texas House Bill HJR16 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Vasut H.J.R. No. 16
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3	3
4	4	A JOINT RESOLUTION
5	5	applying to the Congress of the United States to call a convention
6	6	under Article V of the United States Constitution for the limited
7	7	purpose of proposing an amendment to the constitution to prohibit
8	8	abortion, euthanasia, and certain other acts.
9	9	WHEREAS, Article V of the United States Constitution provides
10	10	that on application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the
11	11	several states the Congress of the United States shall call a
12	12	convention for the purpose of proposing for ratification an
13	13	amendment to the United States Constitution; now, therefore, be it
14	14	RESOLVED, That the 87th Texas Legislature hereby
15	15	respectfully applies to the Congress of the United States to call a
16	16	convention pursuant to Article V of the United States Constitution
17	17	for the limited purpose of proposing, and submitting for
18	18	ratification, an amendment to the United States Constitution
19	19	abrogating Roe v. Wade and clearly prohibiting abortion,
20	20	euthanasia, and all other acts that deprive any person of life, from
21	21	the moment of conception to natural death, without due process of
22	22	law; and, be it further
23	23	RESOLVED, That the 87th Texas Legislature encourages the
24	24	delegates to the convention to consider the following recommended
25	25	text for the proposed constitutional amendment:
26	26	Section 1. Given that all human life begins at the moment of
27	27	conception and has inherent dignity and immeasurable worth, a human
28	28	being, from the moment of conception until death, irrespective of
29	29	biological development, age, health, function, or condition of
30	30	dependency, is a person as that term is used in this Article and in
31	31	the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to this Constitution;
32	32	Section 2. Euthanasia and abortion are unlawful under the
33	33	laws of the United States and any territory subject to their
34	34	jurisdiction;
35	35	Section 3. Euthanasia includes the intentional, knowing, or
36	36	reckless rendering of material assistance to aid another person in
37	37	committing, or attempting to commit, suicide;
38	38	Section 4. Abortion includes the intentional, knowing, or
39	39	reckless killing of any person before birth;
40	40	Section 5. If, in the reasonable opinion of a medical
41	41	professional or other state or federal official, the mother is in
42	42	danger of suffering imminent death or serious bodily injury, a
43	43	person may be removed from the mother's body at the mother's
44	44	election by natural or artificial methods even if the person cannot
45	45	survive outside the mother's body;
46	46	Section 6. The Congress, and the several states, have power
47	47	to enforce this Article by appropriate legislation; and, be it
48	48	further
49	49	RESOLVED, That this application constitutes a continuous and
50	50	ongoing application, in accordance with Article V of the United
51	51	States Constitution, until: (1) the Texas Legislature considers it
52	52	fitting to rescind the application; or (2) at least two-thirds of
53	53	the legislatures of the several states have similarly applied for a
54	54	convention to propose a constitutional amendment and Congress has
55	55	performed its constitutionally obligated duty to call that
56	56	convention; and, be it further
57	57	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
58	58	copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
59	59	the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
60	60	Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
61	61	members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
62	62	this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as an
63	63	application to Congress for a convention under Article V of the
64	64	United States Constitution for the limited purpose of proposing an
65	65	amendment to the constitution to prohibit abortion, euthanasia, and
66	66	all other acts that deprive any person of life, from the moment of
67	67	conception to natural death, without due process of law; and, be it
68	68	further
69	69	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
70	70	copies of this resolution to the secretaries of state and to the
71	71	presiding officers of the legislatures of the several states with
72	72	the request that they join this state in applying to Congress for a
73	73	convention under Article V of the United States Constitution for
74	74	the limited purpose of proposing an amendment to the constitution
75	75	to prohibit abortion, euthanasia, and all other acts that deprive
76	76	any person of life, from the moment of conception to natural death,
77	77	without due process of law.