Oklahoma Establish Rights of Unborn Persons Amendment (2022)
| Oklahoma Establish Rights of Unborn Persons Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic Abortion and Constitutional rights | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Oklahoma Establish Rights of Unborn Persons Amendment (SJR 17) was not on the ballot in Oklahoma as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022.
This amendment would have added a new section to the Oklahoma Constitution stating that the rights of unborn persons are equal to the rights of born persons. The amendment would also have defined life as beginning at conception. It would have also stated that nothing in the state constitution secures or protects the right to perform or receive an abortion.[1]
Text of measure
The full text of the measure is available here.
Background
U.S. Supreme Court rulings on abortion
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022)
On June 24, 2022, in a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court of the United States found there is no constitutional right to abortion and overruled Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992). In a 6-3 ruling, the court upheld Mississippi's abortion law at issue in the case. Roe v. Wade found that state laws criminalizing abortion prior to fetal viability violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the essential holding of Roe v. Wade but rejected the trimester framework established in the case. The high court affirmed that states could not ban abortions before fetal viability.
In 2018, Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a clinic and abortion facility in Mississippi, challenged the constitutionality of the "Gestational Age Act" in federal court. The newly-enacted law prohibited abortions after the fifteenth week of pregnancy except in cases of medical emergencies or fetal abnormalities. The U.S. district court granted summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs, holding that the law was unconstitutional, and put a permanent stop to the law's enforcement. On appeal, the 5th Circuit affirmed the district court's ruling. Click here to learn more about the case's background.[2]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Oklahoma Constitution
To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a simple majority vote is required in both the Oklahoma State Senate and the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
2022 legislative session
This amendment was introduced as Senate Joint Resolution 17 on February 1, 2022. On March 10, 2022, the Senate passed the measure in a vote of 36-9. Vote totals by party will be added to this article when they become available.[3] The measure was not passed in the opposite chamber before the legislature adjourned the 2022 legislative session on May 27, 2022.[4]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Oklahoma State Legislature, "Text of Senate Joint Resolution 17," accessed March 17, 2022
- ↑ SCOTUSblog, "Court to weigh in on Mississippi abortion ban intended to challenge Roe v. Wade," May 17, 2021
- ↑ Oklahoma State Legislature, "Senate Joint Resolution 17," accessed March 17, 2022
- ↑ Oklahoma Senate, "Calendar," accessed May 28, 2022
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