We Support Missouri House Resolution 212

House Resolution 212

Whereas, the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States reads as follows: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."; and

Whereas, the Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted by the Constitution of the United States and no more; and

Whereas, the scope of power defined by the Tenth Amendment means that the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states; and

Whereas, today, in 2009, the states are demonstrably treated as agents of the federal government; and

Whereas, the Tenth Amendment assures that we, the people of the United States of America and each sovereign state in the Union of States, now have, and have always had, rights the federal government may not usurp; and

Whereas, Barack Obama, President of the United States, has promised that one of the top priorities of his new Administration is to sign into law the "Freedom of Choice Act" which purports to classify abortion as a "fundamental right" equal in stature to the right of free speech and the right to vote - rights that, unlike abortion, are specifically enumerated in the United States Constitution; and

Whereas, the federal Freedom of Choice Act would invalidate any "statute, ordinance, regulation, administrative order, decision, policy, practice, or other action" of any federal, state, or local government or governmental official, or any person acting under governmental authority, that would "deny or interfere with a woman's right to choose" abortion, or that would "discriminate against the exercise of the right...in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information"; and

Whereas, the federal Freedom of Choice Act would nullify any federal or state law "enacted, adopted, or implemented before, on, or after the date of [its] enactment" and would effectively prevent the State of Missouri from enacting similar protective measures in the future; and

Whereas, the federal Freedom of Choice Act would invalidate more than 550 federal and state abortion-related laws, laws supported by the majority of the American people; and

Whereas, the federal Freedom of Choice Act would specifically invalidate the following commonsense, protective laws properly enacted by the State of Missouri :

(1) Section 188.027, RSMo, which requires written and informed consent prior to an abortion;

(2) Section 188.028, RSMo, which establishes the requirements and procedures for the performance of abortions on minors;

(3) Section 188.029, RSMo, which requires a determination of viability prior to an abortion;

(4) Section 188.036, RSMo, which prohibits abortions performed with the intent to use fetal organs or tissue for transplant, experiments, or for money;

(5) Section 188.039, RSMo, which requires a twenty-four-hour waiting period prior to an abortion;

(6) Sections 188.205 and 188.215, RSMo, which prohibits the use of public funds and public facilities in the performance of abortions;

(7) Section 188.250, RSMo, which prohibits aiding or assisting a minor in obtaining an abortion;

(8) Section 197.032, RSMo, which allows hospitals and medical personnel the right to refuse to participate in abortions;

(9) Section 565.300, which creates the crime of infanticide; and

Whereas, the federal Freedom of Choice Act will not make abortion safe or rare, but will instead actively promote and subsidize abortion with state and federal tax dollars and do nothing to ensure its safety; and

Whereas, the federal Freedom of Choice Act will protect and promote the abortion industry, sacrifice women and their health to a radical political ideology of unregulated abortion-on-demand, and silence the voices of everyday Americans who want to engage in a meaningful public discussion and debate over the availability, safety, and even desirability of abortion:

Now, therefore, be it resolved that we, the members of the House of Representatives of the Ninety-fifth General Assembly, hereby declare our sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States; and

Be it further resolved that this resolution serve as Notice and Demand to the federal government as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers; and

Be it further resolved that all compulsory federal legislation which directs states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties or sanctions or requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding be prohibited or repealed; and

Be it further resolved that the Missouri House of Representatives further declares

our strong opposition to the federal Freedom of Choice Act and urge the United States Congress to summarily reject it for the following reasons:

(1) It seeks to circumvent the states' general legislative authority as guaranteed under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution;

(2) It seeks to undermine the right and responsibility of the states and the people to debate, vote on, and determine abortion policy;

(3) The protection of women's health through state regulations on abortion is a compelling state interest that should not be nullified by Congress;

(4) Its enactment would nullify numerous laws of the State of Missouri that the Missouri General Assembly and the people of Missouri strongly support; and

Be it further resolved that the Chief Clerk of the Missouri House of Representatives be instructed to prepare a properly inscribed copy of this resolution for Governor Jay Nixon; Barack Obama, President of the United States ; the President of the United States Senate; the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives; and each member of the Missouri Congressional delegation.

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Offered by Representative Cynthia Davis , District No. 19