By Guy Page
To the applause of a large crowd of lawmakers and advocates gathered in the chamber of the Vermont House of Representatives, Governor Phil Scott and Secretary of State Jim Condos today officially enrolled two amendments, Proposition 2 and Proposition 5, into the Vermont Constitution.
The upbeat event resembled a victory lap for the two amendments, which were approved overwhelmingly by voters on November 8. Proposition 2 removed all anti-slavery language from the Vermont Constitution. Proposition 5 enshrined, but didn’t define, ‘an individual’s personal right to personal reproductive autonomy’ into the state charter.
In their brief remarks, elected officials alluded to the nationwide implications of the amendments.
Gov. Scott praised the work of lawmakers and the voters’ decision. “We believe that everyone has the right to personal autonomy,” he said. “This new language represents the American Spirit, as well as Vermont.”
Prop 5 leaves medical decisions “between a patient and a health care provider, totally free from government intervention,” Scott said.
Speaker of the House Jill Krowinski – a former lobbyist and vice-president of Planned Parenthood of New England, the strongest non-governmental advocates for Proposition 5 – told the audience that “watching long held rights being rolled back was a wake-up call.” This was an apparent reference to the overturning of Roe V. Wade this June and the subsequent action by other states to restrict legal abortion.
Both amendments were approved by wide margins by voters statewide on November 8. Proposition 2, amending Article 1 re: anti-slavery, passed 82% yes, 10% no, 8% blank. Critics of this Proposition cited supporters’ claim it could be invoked to stop inmates from being required to work, and even to decarceration. Proposition 5 passed 73% yes, 22% no, 5% blank.
“Talk about a resounding vote,” Secretary of State Jim Condos said shortly before he and Gov. Scott signed the parchment officially amending the state constitution. “These two amendments passed in every single town and city in the State of Vermont.”
Vermont’s adoption of ‘reproductive autonomy’ has national implications, Rep.-Elect Becca Balint told the audience her soon-to-be fellow members of Congress are excited to learn more about Vermont’s constitutional amendments. “It gives them the courage to take up these issues in their own states,” she said.
Balint’s comments echo recent comments by former legislator and current Planned Parenthood vice-president Lucy Leriche (who was present), that abortion advocates in other states are heartened that Vermont passed an amendment without any gestational limits on abortion.
When the ceremony ended, Gov. Scott joked ‘the party’s over’ and left the chamber seconds later.
The ceremony did nothing to dampen the determination of Vermont’s pro-life leaders. “We’re not going away,” Mary Hahn Beerworth, Executive Director of Vermont Right to Life, said in a phone interview. The group’s annual rally – the first since Roe V. Wade was repealed – will be held in January, as always.
On Saturday, January 28, the 50th Annual Rally for Life is scheduled to take place on the State House steps to commemorate the 65 million unborn babies who have been aborted since the Roe v Wade decision in January, 1973.
Plans are underway for multiple activities in the morning followed by a march to the State House, a luncheon at the Capitol Plaza and guest speakers on a variety of pro-life topics.
Contact Information: Vermont Right to Life Committee, 802-229-4885, vrlc@vrlc.net