Pages

Monday, April 25, 2016

State Court Judge Upholds Outcome of Tennessee’s Amendment 1

Circuit Court Judge Michael Binkley
Circuit Court Judge Michael Binkley 
National Right to Life News

Editor’s note. In 2014, Tennessee voters added “Amendment 1” to the State Constitution. The key wording is in the beginning: “Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion.”


Pro-life voters were handed a victory late Thursday as a state court judge ruled in favor of a motion for summary judgment brought by Secretary of State Tre Hargett and Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins.

Hargett and Goins sought clarification from the court as to whether or not the process for counting votes and ratification of a voter-approved amendment were in violation of the Tennessee Constitution. 


Judge Michael Binkley ruled in favor of the state’s process and dismissed pro-abortion claims that the process favored pro-life supporters of Amendment 1 while violating the rights of voters opposed to the pro-life amendment.Pro-life voters were handed a victory late Thursday as a state court judge ruled in favor of a motion for summary judgment brought by Secretary of State Tre Hargett and Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins.

“Tennessee Right to Life shares the view that the historic method of counting the votes and ratifying the results on Amendment 1 was followed in the exact way as every other amendment approved by the voters of our state,” said Brian Harris, president of Tennessee Right to Life, the state’s leading pro-life organization. “Planned Parenthood is trying to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of pro-life Tennesseans simply because they dislike the outcome of the election. That’s neither right nor fair,” said Harris.

Pro-abortion lawyers representing local Planned Parenthood Board Chair Tracey George argued that efforts by some pro-life advocates to encourage an under-vote in the governor’s race in order to favor passage of Amendment 1 had violated the constitutional manner for amending the constitution. They further claim that the ballots of those not having cast a vote in the governor’s race but voting on the amendment should be thrown out or, alternately, that the outcome of Amendment 1 be voided.

Article continues:  http://www.nationalrighttolifenews.org/news/2016/04/


No comments:

Post a Comment