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SB5 • 2025

AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE I OF THE DELAWARE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO THE RIGHT TO REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM.

AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE I OF THE DELAWARE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO THE RIGHT TO REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM.

Elections
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Townsend
Last action
2026-05-06
Official status
Lieu/Substituted 3/6/25
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE I OF THE DELAWARE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO THE RIGHT TO REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM.

AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE I OF THE DELAWARE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO THE RIGHT TO REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM.

What This Bill Does

  • AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE I OF THE DELAWARE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO THE RIGHT TO REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM.
  • This Act is the first leg of an amendment to the Delaware Constitution to ensure that every Delawarean is afforded reproductive freedom.
  • Amending the Delaware Constitution requires not only the passing of the changes in this Act, but also passage of the same changes after the next general election by the next General Assembly.
  • This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article XVI of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend the Delaware Constitution.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-06 Delaware General Assembly

    SS 1 for SB 5 - Reported Out of Committee (Administration) in House with 3 On Its Merits

  2. 2025-03-12 Delaware General Assembly

    SS 1 for SB 5 - Assigned to Administration Committee in House

  3. 2025-03-11 Delaware General Assembly

    SS 1 for SB 5 - Reported Out of Committee (Health & Social Services) in Senate with 5 Favorable, 1 On Its Merits

  4. 2025-03-11 Delaware General Assembly

    Substituted in Senate by SS 1 for SB 5

  5. 2025-03-11 Delaware General Assembly

    Substituted in Senate by SS 1 for SB 5

  6. 2025-03-11 Delaware General Assembly

    SS 1 for SB 5 - - Defeated By Senate. Votes: 6 YES 15 NO

  7. 2025-03-11 Delaware General Assembly

    SS 1 for SB 5 - - Defeated By Senate. Votes: 7 YES 14 NO

  8. 2025-03-11 Delaware General Assembly

    SS 1 for SB 5 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 15 YES 6 NO

  9. 2025-03-06 Delaware General Assembly

    Substituted in Senate by SS 1 for SB 5

  10. 2025-01-29 Delaware General Assembly

    Introduced and Assigned to Health & Social Services Committee in Senate

Official Summary Text

AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE I OF THE DELAWARE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO THE RIGHT TO REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM.
This Act is the first leg of an amendment to the Delaware Constitution to ensure that every Delawarean is afforded reproductive freedom.

Amending the Delaware Constitution requires not only the passing of the changes in this Act, but also passage of the same changes after the next general election by the next General Assembly.

This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article XVI of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend the Delaware Constitution.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Sen. Townsend & Sen. Lockman & Sen. Pinkney & Rep. Minor-Brown & Rep. Heffernan & Rep. K. Johnson & Rep. Griffith & Rep. Bush

Sens. Cruce, Hansen, Hoffner, Huxtable, Paradee, Poore, Seigfried, Sokola, Sturgeon, Walsh; Reps. Gorman, S. Moore, Neal, Phillips, Romer, Ross Levin, Snyder-Hall

DELAWARE STATE SENATE

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE BILL NO. 5

AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE I OF THE DELAWARE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO THE RIGHT TO REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE (Two-thirds of all members elected to each house thereof concurring therein):

Section 1. Amend Article I of the Delaware Constitution by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 22. Right to reproductive freedom.

(a) Every individual has a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which entails the right to make and effectuate decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy, including prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion care, miscarriage management, and infertility care.

(b) An individual’s right to reproductive freedom shall not be denied, burdened, nor infringed upon.

(c) This State may regulate the provision of abortion care after fetal viability, provided that in no circumstance shall this State prohibit an abortion that, in the professional judgment of an attending health care professional, is medically indicated to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual.

SYNOPSIS

This Act is the first leg of an amendment to the Delaware Constitution to ensure that every Delawarean is afforded reproductive freedom.

Amending the Delaware Constitution requires not only the passing of the changes in this Act, but also passage of the same changes after the next general election by the next General Assembly.

This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article XVI of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend the Delaware Constitution.

Author: Senator Townsend