Oklahoma SJR 17: Constitutional amendment; equating rights of unborn persons to rights of born persons; prohibiting performance of abortion; providing exception.

Bill Text

Req. No. 3519 Page 1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
STATE OF OKLAHOMA

2nd Session of the 58th Legislature (2022)

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
SENATE JOINT
RESOLUTION NO. 17 By: Bullard, Bergstrom, and
Dahm of the Senate

and

Crosswhite Hader of the
House

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

A Joint Resolution directing the Secretary of State
to refer to the people for their approval or
rejection a proposed amendment to the Oklahoma
Constitution by adding a new Section 2A to Article
II; equating the rights of unborn persons to those of
born persons; providing findings; defining terms;
providing certain interpretation and construction;
prohibiting performance of abortion; providing
exception; providing penalty; prohibiting certain
involuntary tracking or monitoring; precluding
certain cause of action; providing ballot title; and
directing filing.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
2ND SESSION OF THE 58TH OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE:
SECTION 1. The Secretary of State shall refer to the people for
their approval or rejection, as and in the manner provided by law,
the following proposed amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution by
adding a new Section 2A to Article II to read as follows:

Req. No. 3519 Page 2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Section 2A. A. It being necessary for the liberty of free
persons, the rights of unborn persons shall be equal to the rights
of born persons. The State of Oklahoma finds that:
1. The life of each person begins at conception;
2. Unborn persons have protectable interests in life, liberty,
the pursuit of happiness, and the enjoyment of the gains of their
own industry; and
3. The natural parents of unborn persons have protectable
interests in the life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness of
their unborn child.
B. As used in this section:
1. “Abortion” means the use or prescription of any instrument,
medicine, drug, or any other substance or device intentionally to
terminate the pregnancy of a female known to be pregnant with an
intention other than to increase the probability of a live birth, to
preserve the life or health of the child after live birth, to remove
an ectopic pregnancy, or to remove a dead unborn child who died as
the result of a spontaneous miscarriage, accidental trauma, or a
criminal assault on the pregnant female or her unborn child; and
2. “Unborn person” means the unborn offspring of human beings
from the moment of conception, through pregnancy and until live
birth including the human conceptus, zygote, morula, blastocyst,
embryo, and fetus.

Req. No. 3519 Page 3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
C. 1. Consistent with Amendments V and XIV of the United
States Constitution including but not limited to the Equal
Protection Clause of Amendment XIV of the United States Constitution
and the Due Process Clauses of Amendments V and XIV of the United
States Constitution, and pursuant to powers reserved to this state
by Amendment X of the United States Constitution, the laws of this
state shall be interpreted and construed to acknowledge on behalf of
the unborn person in utero, all the rights, privileges, and
immunities available to other persons, citizens, and residents of
this state, in accordance with the Constitution of the United States
and the Oklahoma Constitution.
2. Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects the right
to perform or receive an abortion, nor shall any provision of this
Constitution be construed to preclude, invalidate, or in any way
limit a statute that prohibits abortion, regulates abortion, or
regulates abortion differently from other acts or procedures.
D. 1. No person in this state shall perform an abortion of an
unborn person in utero except as provided in paragraph 2 of this
subsection.
2. The prohibition provided by paragraph 1 of this subsection
shall not apply to an abortion that is necessary to prevent the
death of a pregnant woman. The exception provided by this paragraph
shall not include an abortion performed solely on the basis of the
mental or emotional health of the pregnant woman.

Req. No. 3519 Page 4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
E. Any person found guilty of performing an abortion in
violation of subsection D of this section shall, upon conviction, be
guilty of manslaughter in the first degree.
F. This section shall only apply to abortions performed in this
state. Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect an
abortion performed out-of-state. No woman shall be involuntarily
tracked or monitored due to pregnancy or perceived pregnancy.
G. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as creating a
cause of action against a woman for indirectly harming her unborn
child by failing to properly care for herself or by failing to
follow any particular program of prenatal care.
SECTION 2. The Ballot Title for the proposed Constitutional
amendment as set forth in SECTION 1 of this reso