Vermont lawmakers voted this week to move forward with a constitutional amendment that would guarantee access to abortion in the state.
The Washington Post reported that the Vermont House voted 107 to 41 for the proposed amendment called Proposition 5. The proposal will head to Republican Gov. Phil Scott, who is pro-abortion, and will give it public notice before it appears on the ballot in November. The Post claims that 70 percent of Vermont residents say that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
Vermont’s proposal comes ahead of a decision in the Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which pertains to a 15-week abortion ban in Mississippi. Dobbs is the first case in decades with the potential to overturn the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, which gave American women the right to abortion. A decision is expected this summer.
While other states have passed laws protecting abortion access, The Post notes that no other state has “enshrined” the right to abortion in their state’s constitution.
Reportedly State Rep. Anne Donahue, a Republican, argued against the measure on Tuesday.
“Individuals inherently do control their reproductive decisions,” Donahue said, adding that “Simply because the embryo’s survival depends upon the protection of the womb does not make it the property of or merely an appendage of the person bearing it.”
Donahue has also said that lawmakers are making an assumption that the American public’s opinions on abortion will not change in the future.
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“We as human beings have made a lot of mistakes at times when we thought we were doing the right thing,” Donahue said, reportedly citing decisions made by the Supreme Court on segregation and eugenics. “When we start putting a current belief in the [Vermont] constitution, I think we’re playing with fire.”
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