MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2023 Regular Session
To: Constitution
By: Representatives Banks, Bell (65th), Summers
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION PROPOSING TO AMEND THE MISSISSIPPI CONSTITUTION OF 1890 BY CREATING A NEW SECTION ESTABLISHING THE RIGHT TO PERSONAL REPRODUCTIVE DECISIONS.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That the following amendment to the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 is proposed to the qualified electors of the state:
Amend the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 by adding a new section to read as follows:
"Section ____. Every individual possesses a fundamental right of privacy with respect to personal reproductive decisions, which entails the right to make and effectuate decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy, and the state is prohibited from denying or interfering with a person's right to obtain an abortion before viability of the fetus, or when the abortion is necessary to protect the life or health of the person."
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this proposed amendment shall be submitted by the Secretary of State to the qualified electors at an election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November 2023, as provided by Section 273 of the Constitution and by general law.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the explanation of this proposed amendment for the ballot shall read as follows: "This proposed constitutional amendment states that every individual possesses a fundamental right of privacy with respect to personal reproductive decisions, and the state is prohibited from denying or interfering with a person's right to obtain an abortion before viability of the fetus, or when the abortion is necessary to protect the life or health of the person."