FIRST:
What IS
and IS NOT
a Human Life Amendment?
( Sometimes referred to
as a Personhood Amendment )
While some think it is any type of
constitutional amendment dealing with abortion that is not the case.
Currently unborn children are legally viewed as property
of the mother and not human.
A Human
Life Amendment IS a constitutional
amendment that legally recognizes unborn children as
persons and thus being a person having legal protection
against murder. A
Human Life Amendment IS NOT a 'ban' on
abortion (a 'medical procedure' as the courts view it).
When you
weigh between the rights of the unborn child and the
woman, the Right to Life of the unborn child
is higher than and outweighs a woman's right to make her
own medical decisions (i.e. have an abortion).
A Human Life Amendment would have the
effect of ending
abortion (the murder of unborn children) throughout
the entire United States.
Roe v. Wade was the 1973
U.S.
Supreme Court decision overturning a Texas anti-abortion law, which had the
effect of legalizing abortion throughout the United States. Even before
Roe, several Human Life Amendments were drafted
and proposed in Congress to protect life due to the encroachment of legalized
limited abortion in a few states. One main version1
became popular in the early 70s with two other popular versions, the
Paramount1 and the Unity Human Life Amendment1
being drafted over the next decade. The target of these amendments
were the United States Constitution. (view
early HLAs)
The beginning of the
modern Pro-Life Movement we know today was
started in the early 1980s and gained a great ally in
President Ronald Reagan (see Reagan's
Proclamation). During this time the main focus
of the Pro-Life Movement was the passage of a Human Life
Amendment to the U.S Constitution. It was common
knowledge that the
Human Life Amendment was the key to overturning Roe v. Wade
and abortion in America. The reason is that once you
legally recognize unborn children as
persons they have rights. A Right to Life
has more weight than a woman's right to make her own medical decisions (i.e. to
have an Abortion, which is
how the courts view it).
Because this was so important, the
Pro-Life
Movement lobbied every person running for Congress and in
other top leadership positions around the country to make a
public stand in support of
the Human Life Amendment.
Over the years more than 330 different proposals being
called a Human
Life Amendment have been introduced in Congress. In
over 35 years not one Human Life Amendment has yet been
allowed to come to a vote.
"[If the]
suggestion of personhood [for the unborn] is established, the [abortion
rights] case, of course, collapses, for the fetus' right to life is then
guaranteed specifically by the [14th] Amendment."
Roe v. Wade Decision
(Writing for the Majority)
… this
would be the equivalent-after the child was born, if the mother thought it
bothered her health any having the child around, she could have it killed.
Isn't that correct?
Unfortunately, since the 1980s the Human Life Amendment
was dropped as a viable project by the Pro-Life Movement due
to the difficulty in getting it passed through a very
diverse and partisan Congress. The Pro-Life Movement,
disheartened, took up projects not to overturn Roe and
abortion but to only scale back abortion as much as they
could legally through state and federal legislation. The Pro-Life Movement,
for the most part, had given
up on overturning Roe v. Wade. It was now only spoken
of as a vague ideal or a 'long term strategy' and which left
the Pro-Life Movement seeking alternative strategies.
Alternative Strategy # 1
Republican
Appointed Judges
One early
adopted strategy was in
getting Republican Presidents in office so they could
nominate reasonable judges to the Federal Courts and the
U.S. Supreme Court. The goal was to appoint pro-life
friendly judges who would then overturn Roe v. Wade.
This strategy has yet to
yield any success
and here we are 35 years later. In fact that strategy
had seriously backfired,
since Republican appointed judges have done more to hurt the
Pro-Life Movement and keep Roe v. Wade alive than Democrat
appointed judges.
Alternative Strategy # 2
The "Limited Abortion" Coalition
The now faded goal of ending abortion was replaced by what
is called the 'Limited Abortion' coalition
or
'Incremental'
Pro-Lifers.
If you try to remember recent Pro-Life activities over the
last 15 years you will find one shocking fact. Most,
if not all, legislative/political activity has centered
around not ending abortion once and for all but in only
'limiting abortion.' This strategy led the
Pro-Life Movement in getting bogged down in a Nazi Germany
type debate focusing on banning Poison A for the more humane
Poison B in killing of unborn children. Laws based
upon this 'regulate' abortion thinking still ended with
"... and then you can kill the baby."
The "Limited Abortion" coalition's concept was to focus on
'chipping away' at Roe v. Wade through state legislation, in
an attempt to limit abortion, with some unexplainable reason
that it would "eventually" overturn Roe v. Wade. In
over 15 years this strategy has not gotten anywhere close to
overturning Roe v. Wade. Their response to the
strategy's failure is to give it more time. When we
look at the great loss of life in allowing
10, 20, or 30 years more waiting for this strategy to work,
it just is not a viable option.
This cancerous idea promoted
by key national Pro-Life & Pro-Family leaders and
organizations had been adopted by many other Pro-Life
leaders and organizations across America as their main focus
also. Anyone who now promotes other Pro-Life projects
and/or contradicts the 'Limited Abortion" strategy is
dismissed as unwise and classified as a 'danger' to the
Pro-Life Movement.
While some of the legislation has done some immediate good
it also did a very dangerous thing,
it took the Pro-Life Movement's attention, focus, and
resources away from a true Human Life Amendment, the only way
to end abortion once and for all. A true Human Life
Amendment would in one precise action accomplish all of the
goals of such 'limiting abortion' laws. It would end
abortion once and for all throughout the United States. It would overturn Roe
v. Wade.
Jesus states
in Revelation chapter 3:
"He who has an
ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches.
I know your
deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish
you were either one or the other! So, because
you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to
spit you out of my mouth. ... Those whom I love I
rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. "
Pro-Life
Strategies
That Kill
Unborn Children
Powerful Presentation!
35 minutes
Coming
Full Circle
Back to the Original Pro-Life Strategy
The Human
Life Amendment
The Only Way to END Abortion:
a
State Human Life Amendment!
Studies in the areas of early American history, the founding
fathers, and our system of government reveal that our
state governments
have always been the
primary sources of politically protecting our God-given rights2,
not the Federal Government. The Pro-Life Movement’s
Human Life Amendment strategy was on target but
unfortunately inpassable in
Congress. The answer is a state human life amendment.
Up until 2005, one had never been introduced or tried in
U.S. History.
Legal studies
show that it would have the same effect of overturning
Roe v. Wade.
All
previous legal and legislative challenges and strategies by the Pro-Life Movement were viewed in the
courts as attempting to
“TAKE AWAY”
(“a
negative”) from the rights of a
woman. The recognition of unborn children as persons
does not “TAKE AWAY" from the mother but
“RECOGNIZES” unborn children
(“a positive”) with all legal
rights and standing as persons in all courts. We believe once a state recognizes
unborn children in their constitution (not laws), all federal
courts will be legally maneuvered to recognize unborn children as
persons also, forcing the overturn of Roe v. Wade.
In the oral arguments in Roe, both the abortion lawyer and
the Supreme Court Justices clearly admitted that IF it was
established that an
unborn child is a person then they would not have a case.
NO State
Human Life Amendment
has EVER been adopted yet...
A state version of the Human Life
Amendment has never been adopted in U.S. History.
The Pro-Life Movement has always believed concerning the
proposed U.S. amendment that upon legal recognition of
unborn children as persons using a constitutional process would
resoundingly overturn Roe. v. Wade.
David Rogers of Biloxi, Mississippi is the
architect of the Ultimate Human Life Amendment(UHLA), the
first model state human life amendment in American
history. The UHLA's carefully constructed wording
was designed to specifically address
major issues with all previous human life amendments and to
specifically overcome issues the U.S. Supreme Court had in Roe
v. Wade. Remember the Roe v. Wade decision was an issue
that came from the State of Texas and eventually led to the
U.S. Supreme Court. All it takes is one state to pass a
properly-worded state constitutional amendment and Roe v. Wade
will fall.
David Rogers is also the official sponsor of
People's Initiative 23, the Mississippi version
of the Ultimate Human Life
Amendment, a proposed constitutional amendment for the State
of Mississippi.
The wording in the Ultimate Human Life Amendment was designed
specifically to include the legal recognition of unborn children as persons
and have the affect of
outlawing of abortion,
euthanasia,
embryonic
stem-cell research,
human cloning,
and assisted suicide.
It also addresses, for the first time, key legal areas that
the U.S. Supreme Court (in Roe v. Wade) had problems with
the state enforcement of anti-abortion laws. Upon
passage of the UHLA we expect federal court challenges to make
their way to the U.S. Supreme Court and overturn Roe v. Wade.
The Mississippi Version
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
persons are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that
among these are the Right to Life, that is, the Right to
not have one’s life taken from them. Therefore, the
government of the state of Mississippi shall recognize
and defend the God-given Right to Life of all persons
equally in accordance with Section 14 of the State
Constitution of 1890. The word "person" shall apply to
all human beings, regardless of race, color, creed,
religion, citizenship, ancestry, national origin, sex,
age, health, function, or condition of dependency, at
all stages of biological development from conception
until natural death.
No person shall deprive another person of life by
assisting or aiding in their suicide. No person shall
deprive an unborn person of life; provided, however,
that nothing in this amendment shall prohibit a law
allowing justification to be shown for only those
medical procedures required to prevent the death of
either the pregnant woman or her unborn offspring as
long as such law requires every reasonable effort be
made to preserve the life of each.
No designated funds are required to implement this
amendment.
God-given and Politically Protected Rights….
All Rights in our system of government originally go back to the Bible
and God, called "God-given Rights" and "Inalienable Rights". You would be correct to say that all people
should have a Right to political and religious speech without being
jailed. In America this
“God-given” Right is “Politically Protected” in our state
and federal constitutions. But if you go to Saudi Arabia
and try to exercise that God-given Right then you most
likely will be
arrested, jailed, and may be stoned to death or lose your head at the chopping
block because that God-given
Right is not “Politically
Protected” by the Saudi Arabian government. So the idea in
general is to identify and understand our God-given Rights
and make sure that they are protected in our state
constitutions.
Early Human Life Amendments
Proposed Amendments to the United States Constitution
Section 1: With respect to the right to life,
the word "Person" as used in this article and in the Fifth
and Fourteenth Articles of Amendment to the Constitution of
the United States applies to all human beings irrespective
of age, health, function, or condition of dependency,
including their unborn offspring at every stage of their
biologic development.
Section 2: No unborn person shall be deprived
of life by any person; provided, however, that nothing in
this article shall prohibit a law permitting only those
medical procedures required to prevent the death of the
mother.
Section 3: The Congress and the several
States shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Section 1: The right to life is a paramount
and most fundamental right of a person.
Section 2: With respect to the right to life
guaranteed to persons by the Fifth and Fourteenth Articles
of Amendment to the Constitution, the word "person" applies
to all human beings, irrespective of age, health, function,
or condition of dependency, including their unborn offspring
at every state of their biological development including
fertilization.
Section 3: No unborn person shall be deprived
of life by any person; provided, however, that nothing in
this article shall prohibit a law allowing justification to
be shown for only those medical procedures required to
prevent the death of either the pregnant woman or her unborn
offspring as long as such law requires every reasonable
effort be made to preserve the life of each.
Section 4: Congress and the several States
shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Roe
v. Wade Research:
WikiPedia - Overview of Roe v. Wade FindLaw.com - Read the Supreme Court Decision. Oyez.com - Listen to the Oral
Arguments. SupremeCourtUS.gov - United States
Supreme Court
Other Related Information:
Norma McCorvey
-- 1973 "Jane Roe" Plaintiff in Roe v. Wade
Proclamation
5761 National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 1988
PERSONHOOD PROCLAMATION
January 14, 1988
By the President of the United States
of America
A Proclamation
America has given a
great gift to the world, a gift that drew upon the
accumulated wisdom derived from centuries of experiments in
self-government, a gift that has irrevocably changed
humanity's future. Our gift is twofold: the declaration, as
a cardinal principle of all just law, of the God-given,
unalienable rights possessed by every human being; and the
example of our determination to secure those rights and to
defend them against every challenge through the generations.
Our declaration and defense of our rights have made us and
kept us free and have sent a tide of hope and inspiration
around the globe.
One of those
unalienable rights, as the Declaration of Independence
affirms so eloquently, is the right to life. In the 15 years
since the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade, however,
America's unborn have been denied their right to life. Among
the tragic and unspeakable results in the past decade and a
half have been the loss of life of 22 million infants before
birth; the pressure and anguish of countless women and girls
who are driven to abortion; and a cheapening of our respect
for the human person and the sanctity of human life.
We are told that we may
not interfere with abortion. We are told that we may not
"impose our morality'' on those who wish to allow or
participate in the taking of the life of infants before
birth; yet no one calls it "imposing morality" to prohibit
the taking of life after people are born. We are told as
well that there exists a "right" to end the lives of unborn
children; yet no one can explain how such a right can exist
in stark contradiction of each person's fundamental right to
life.
That right to life
belongs equally to babies in the womb, babies born
handicapped, and the elderly or infirm. That we have killed
the unborn for 15 years does not nullify this right, nor
could any number of killings ever do so. The unalienable
right to life is found not only in the Declaration of
Independence but also in the Constitution that every
President is sworn to preserve, protect, and defend. Both
the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee that no person
shall be deprived of life without due process of law.
All medical and
scientific evidence increasingly affirms that children
before birth share all the basic attributes of human
personality -- that they in fact are persons. Modern
medicine treats unborn children as patients. Yet, as the
Supreme Court itself has noted, the decision in Roe v. Wade
rested upon an earlier state of medical technology. The law
of the land in 1988 should recognize all of the medical
evidence.
Our nation cannot
continue down the path of abortion, so radically at odds
with our history, our heritage, and our concepts of justice.
This sacred legacy, and the well-being and the future of our
country, demand that protection of the innocents must be
guaranteed and that the personhood of the unborn be declared
and defended throughout our land. In legislation introduced
at my request in the First Session of the 100th Congress, I
have asked the Legislative branch to declare the "humanity
of the unborn child and the compelling interest of the
several states to protect the life of each person before
birth." This duty to declare on so fundamental a matter
falls to the Executive as well. By this Proclamation I
hereby do so.
NOW, THEREFORE, I,
Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, by
virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim and
declare the unalienable personhood of every American, from
the moment of conception until natural death, and I do
proclaim, ordain, and declare that I will take care that the
Constitution and laws of the United States are faithfully
executed for the protection of America's unborn children.
Upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice,
warranted by the Constitution, I invoke the considerate
judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God.
I also proclaim Sunday, January 17, 1988, as National
Sanctity of Human Life Day. I call upon the citizens of
this blessed land to gather on that day in their homes and
places of worship to give thanks for the gift of life they
enjoy and to reaffirm their commitment to the dignity of
every human being and the sanctity of every human life.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I
have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day of January, in
the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-eight, and
of the Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twelfth.
David Rogers of Biloxi, Mississippi is the
architect of the Ultimate Human Life Amendment(UHLA), the
first model state human life amendment in American
history. The UHLA's carefully constructed wording
was designed to specifically address
major issues with all previous human life amendments and to
specifically overcome issues the U.S. Supreme Court had in Roe
v. Wade. Remember the Roe v. Wade decision was an issue
that came from the State of Texas and eventually led to the
U.S. Supreme Court. All it takes is one state to pass a
properly-worded state constitutional amendment and Roe v. Wade
will fall.
Proclamation
5761
