| |
| |
|
|
A JOINT RESOLUTION
|
|
|
proposing a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to life |
|
|
of unborn children and prohibiting abortion to the fullest extent |
|
|
possible under law. |
|
|
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 19, Article I, Texas Constitution, is |
|
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 19. (a) No citizen of this State shall be deprived of |
|
|
life, liberty, property, privileges or immunities, or in any manner |
|
|
disfranchised, except by the due course of the law of the land. |
|
|
(b) With respect to the right to life described by |
|
|
Subsection (a) of this section, the term "citizen" includes each |
|
|
member of the species Homo sapiens at each stage of life, including |
|
|
the moment of fertilization or other moment at which a member of the |
|
|
human species begins to develop. |
|
|
(c) The right to life guaranteed by this section is vested |
|
|
in each member of the human species, born and unborn. |
|
|
(d) This section may not be construed to: |
|
|
(1) require the prosecution of a woman for the death of |
|
|
her unborn child; |
|
|
(2) prohibit in vitro fertilization; or |
|
|
(3) prohibit the use of birth control or other means of |
|
|
preventing fertilization. |
|
|
(e) To the fullest extent possible under law, abortion is |
|
|
prohibited in this state, except that an abortion may be performed |
|
|
on a woman who: |
|
|
(1) suffers from a life-threatening physical |
|
|
condition aggravated by, caused by, or arising from a pregnancy |
|
|
that, as certified by a physician, places the woman in danger of |
|
|
death or a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily |
|
|
function unless an abortion is performed; or |
|
|
(2) is pregnant as a result of an act of rape or |
|
|
incest. |
|
|
SECTION 2. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be |
|
|
submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 7, 2017. |
|
|
The ballot shall be printed to provide for voting for or against the |
|
|
proposition: "The constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right |
|
|
to life of unborn children and prohibiting abortion to the fullest |
|
|
extent possible under law." |