AG Rejects Ballot Initiative From Andover's Bernadette Lyons

ANDOVER, MA — The Massachusetts attorney general's office rejected a ballot initiative proposed by Andover's Bernadette Lyons which would have required "all reasonable steps" be taken to "preserve the life of [a] child born alive."

The ballot initiative was not certified because it was too ambiguous, according to a letter released by the attorney general Wednesday.

The ballot initiative would have added the following to the state's general laws:

"Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, if a child is born alive, all reasonable steps, in keeping with good medical practice, shall be taken to preserve the life of the child born alive."

Anne Sterman, deputy chief of the attorney general's Government Bureau, wrote to Lyons that the initiative has "several highly ambiguous provisions, which make it impossible for us to determine, and inform potential voters of, the meaning and effect of the proposed law."

The law does not define "a child born a live," the "reasonable steps" that must be taken, who "shall" take them or what is required to "preserve the life of a child born alive," in contrast to more specific provisions in existing law, Sterman said.

"Moreover, the proposed law does not provide any means for its enforcement," such as a civil liability, Sterman wrote.

"This petition is a 'nonbinding expression of opinion' and not a 'law' that may be proposed," Sterman wrote.

Lyons is the wife of Massachusetts Republican Party Chairman James Lyons and served as his campaign treasurer when he was a state representative. Andover's Republican Town Committee Chairwoman Evelyn Curley also signed the ballot initiative, as did eight other Massachusetts residents.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.