California Abortion as First-Degree Murder Initiative (2018)
| California Abortion as First-Degree Murder Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Abortion | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The California Abortion as First-Degree Murder Initiative (#17-0008) was not on the ballot in California as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018.
The measure would have added language to the state constitution to make performing or procuring an abortion a crime of first-degree murder.[1]
The measure would have defined abortion as "the use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance or device to intentionally kill an unborn human."[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The official ballot title was as follows:[2]
| “ | Criminalizes Abortion as First-Degree Murder and Expands Definition of Abortion to Include Certain Forms of Birth Control, Some Medical Research, and Many in Vitro Fertilization Procedures. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.[3] | ” |
Petition summary
The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets was as follows:[2]
| “ | Eliminates a woman’s state constitutional privacy right to terminate a pregnancy, and to use certain birth control methods. Outlaws: abortion including cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the woman; intentionally terminating a fertilized egg; most embryonic stem cell research, some fetal tissue research; and many in vitro fertilization procedures. Women, medical professionals, researchers, and others, who violate these restrictions would be guilty of first-degree murder.[3] | ” |
Fiscal impact
- Note: The fiscal impact statement for a California ballot initiative authorized for circulation is prepared by the state's legislative analyst and director of finance.
The fiscal impact statement was as follows:[2]
| “ | Assuming that provisions of the U.S. Constitution would prevent the initiative from taking effect, voter approval of this measure would have no impact on state and local finances.[3] | ” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article I, California Constitution
The measure would have added a Section 33 to Article I of the California Constitution. The following text would have been added:[1]
Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.
- (1) "Abortion" means the use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other
substance or device to intentionally kill an unborn human.
- (2) "Unborn human" means an individual organism of the species Homo sapiens from fertilization, whether fertilization occurs inside or outside of a human, until live birth.
(b) No person shall perform, procure, or attempt to perform an abortion.
(c) Whoever performs or procures an abortion is guilty of.first-degree murder and shall be punished in accordance with the penalties for that crime under state law.
(d) Abortion or any other taking of innocent human life is not protected by a right to privacy under Article L Section 1 of this Constitution.[3]
Path to the ballot
In California, the number of signatures needed to qualify a measure for the ballot is based on the total number of votes cast for the office of governor. For an initiated constitutional amendment, petitioners must collect signatures equal to 8 percent of the most recent gubernatorial vote. To get a measure on the 2018 ballot, the number of signatures required was 585,407. In California, initiatives can be circulated for 180 days. Signatures needed to be certified at least 131 days before the 2018 general election, which was around June 28, 2018. As the signature verification process can take several weeks, the California secretary of state issues suggested deadlines for several months before the certification deadline.
The timeline for the initiative was as follows:[4]
- Daniel Ehinger submitted a letter requesting a title and summary on July 3, 2017.
- A title and summary were issued by the California attorney general's office on September 6, 2017.
- Proponents of the initiative needed to submit 365,880 valid signatures by March 5, 2018, in order for it to make the 2018 ballot.
- On March 22, 2018, the secretary of state announced that signatures had not been filed for the initiative, meaning it failed to make the ballot.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 California Attorney General, "Initiative #17-0008," May 19, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Cleared for Circulation," accessed March 6, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ California Secretary of State, "Ballot Measures," accessed July 10, 2017
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