Proposed Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Vermont. 

The 2019-2020 General Assembly proposed two amendments to the Constitution of the State of Vermont, and the upcoming 2021-2022 General Assembly must concur with each proposed amendment in order for it to be submitted to the voters for final approval. The proposed amendments are described as follows:

Proposal 2 would amend the Vermont Constitution to clarify that slavery and indentured servitude in any form are prohibited.

Article 1 of Chapter I of the Vermont Constitution would be amended to read:

Article 1. [All persons born free; their natural rights; slavery and indentured servitude prohibited]

That all persons are born equally free and independent, and have certain natural, inherent, and unalienable rights, amongst which are the enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety; therefore no person born in this country, or brought from over sea, ought to be holden by law, to serve any person as a servant, slave or apprentice, after arriving to the age of twenty-one years, unless bound by the person's own consent, after arriving to such age, or bound by law for the payment of debts, damages, fines, costs, or the like slavery and indentured servitude in any form are prohibited.

Proposal 5 would amend the Vermont Constitution to ensure that every Vermonter is afforded personal reproductive liberty.

Article 22 of Chapter I of the Vermont Constitution would be added to read:

Article 22. [Personal reproductive liberty]

That 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.