“People on both sides of the debate over abortion know that ‘reproductive autonomy’ is publicly understood to be a way of referring to an unlimited abortion license, that is, elective abortion permitted through the entire nine months of gestation and pregnancy up to and including the process of birth.”
Robert P. George
Professor of Jurisprudence,
Princeton University
Proposal 5 is a legislative proposal to amend the Vermont Constitution with pro-abortion language.
Proponents of Proposal 5 have stated publicly that their goal is to ensure unlimited, unregulated abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy.
The final language is below. It has already progressed through the first phase of the amendment process by being approved by both the Vermont House and Senate in 2019. If the language is approved again in the 2021-
2022 legislative session, Article 22 will appear on your general election ballot for a “Yes” or “No” vote in November of 2022.
What will Proposal 5 mean for Vermont taxpayers?
The guarantee of “personal reproductive autonomy” is likely to be interpreted by lawmakers and the Vermont court system to mean that taxpayers must:
- Pay for abortions.
- Pay for sterilizations and sterilization
- reversals.
- Pay for the expenses associated with infertility and surrogacy.
- Fund pro-abortion organizations, like Planned Parenthood.
What else does “personal reproductive autonomy” mean?
According to supporters of Proposal 5 the right to “personal reproductive autonomy” will mean more than unlimited abortion.
Proposal 5 will mean whatever the Vermont courts decide it means. According to Planned Parenthood of Vermont’s spokesperson, Proposal 5 “will open up a range of different questions for future lawmakers…..for years to come.” (Paige Feeser, Public Affairs Organizer for Planned Parenthood, 7/30/2020)
Call your legislators in the Vermont House and Senate and tell them to vote NO on Proposal 5.
You can use the following talking points:
- Amending the Vermont Constitution to include the language of Proposal 5 is reckless and irresponsible, dangerous and expensive as well as morally and ethically wrong.
- The lives of countless unborn babies will be placed at further risk of abortion if Proposal 5 is adopted.
- Vermonters cannot afford Proposal 5 and all of its unknown repercussions.
57 Preserving the Right to Abortion
In 2019, legislation (H.57, Act 47 )was enacted in Vermont:
established as a fundamental right the right to choose or refuse contraception or sterilization and the right to carry a pregnancy to term, to give birth to a child, or to have an abortion.
prohibits law enforcement from prosecuting an individual for inducing, performing, or attempting to induce or perform the person’s own abortion.
prohibits a governmental entity from: • denying or interfering with a fundamental right as established by the act; • depriving a person of the choice to have an abortion; • interfering with or restricting the choice of a person to have an abortion; • prohibiting a health care provider acting within the scope of the provider’s license from performing an abortion; or • interfering with the choice of a health care provider acting within the scope of the provider’s license to provide an abortion.
establishes a private right of action in Superior Court for a person injured as a result of a violation of the act.
