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This summer, the Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling on a case involving a Mississippi law banning abortions at 15 weeks. The court’s decision could potentially overturn or greatly weaken Roe v. Wade, which enshrines a person’s right to an abortion under the Constitution. Rather than waiting for that potential implosion, Vermont has taken matters into its own hands, moving one step closer this week to passing its own abortion rights legislation.
The Personal Reproductive Liberty Amendment, or Proposition 5, would make Vermont the first state to explicitly protect reproductive rights within its own constitution. Per local outlet NBC5, the legislation states:
An individual’s right to personal reproductive autonomy is central to the liberty and dignity to determine one’s own life course, and shall not be denied or infringed unless justified by a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means.
The resolution was first passed by the state Senate in spring 2019. Then it made its way to the state House this year — where, on Tuesday, it passed with a 107-41 vote.
Democratic legislators have stressed the importance of Proposition 5 as federal abortion protections become increasingly tenuous. The Portland Press Herald reported that Democratic state Rep. Ann Pugh said, “While the right to reproductive autonomy, and abortion care, remains for the time being a fundamental right at the national level, it has been and continues to be under serious attack. In this turbulent time clarity is called for.”
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With the future of Roe in the hands of a conservative Supreme Court, Vermont legislators have moved to enshrine abortion access into the state constitution.
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