INITIATIVE MEASURE NO. 24
SPONSOR:
M. Keith
Rogers, Post Office Box 8240, Biloxi, MS 39535
SUBJECT MATTER:
Assisted
Suicide and Abortion
BALLOT TITLE:
Should the
Mississippi Constitution be amended to adopt legal standards defining and
protecting human life as provided in Initiative #24?
BALLOT SUMMARY:
Initiative 24
would amend the Mississippi Constitution to require legal recognition that human
life begins and is protected at the moment of fertilization and to forbid taking
the life of a person by aiding a suicide attempt or by depriving an unborn
person of life. “Person” would be defined (without regard for conditions such as
race, sex, age health, function or dependency) to include all stages of
biological development from fertilization to natural death
EXPIRATION DATE: December 22, 2009
STATUS: Expired
Click here
to view the original filing
Petition instructions
MS Peoples Initiative 24 Petition
(this link directs you away from the Secretary of State's website)
Initiative Information
The official ballot title
and ballot summary for an initiative measure are prepared by the Mississippi
Attorney General’s Office. Initiative measures are valid for one year.
During this one-year period, a petition may be circulated to place the measure
on the next statewide general election ballot to allow the voters of Mississippi
to determine whether the measure should become a part of the Mississippi
Constitution. According to Mississippi law, for an initiative measure to
be placed on the ballot, a minimum of 89,285 certified signatures must be
gathered, with at least 17,857 certified signatures from each of the five
congressional districts as they existed in the year 2000. This required
number of signatures represents twelve percent (12%) of the total number of
votes cast for Governor in the last gubernatorial general election.
Signatures must be certified by county circuit clerks as belonging to registered
voters in Mississippi. A completed petition should be filed with Secretary
of State, together with a filing fee of $500.00.
For more information on the
initiative process in Mississippi, consult the Mississippi Constitution of 1890,
Section 273, and Mississippi Code Annotated ยงยง 23-17-1 through 23-17-61 (1972).