A proposed amendment to Tennessee’s abortion ban has been met with resistance from key anti-abortion lobbyists.
Currently, Tennessee’s abortion ban does not contain explicit exceptions, even for life-threatening medical emergencies. Instead, it contains the concept of “affirmative defense,” which would require doctors to prove that the abortion care they provide is solely for emergencies where a patient’s life or major bodily functions would be endangered.
However, to be able to use affirmative defense, a doctor would have to first be charged for performing an abortion, which is considered a felony in Tennessee. This charge carries the risk of an individual losing their medical license, even if they are later found innocent.
In mid-February, Republican lawmakers introduced a bill that would remove affirmative defense entirely from the language of the ban and would instead clarify that it is not a crime to terminate a pregnancy to prevent or treat a medical emergency. The bill has received bipartisan support.
It is the provision that allows doctors to prevent a medical emergency that is particularly distasteful to some anti-abortion lobbyists. Will Brewer, a representative from the state’s foremost anti-abortion lobbying group Tennessee Right To Life, called preventative abortion care “quasi-elective abortions” during a meeting with lawmakers.
Noé Monárrez, a health educator and condom distribution coordinator for Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi, explained that they were particularly outraged by that term.
“I think I’ll start first with highlighting how language is super important, specifically the verbiage we utilize when describing something as delicate as abortion,” Monárrez said. “‘Quasi-elective abortion’ feels like an attempt from abortion oppositionists to further demonize and stigmatize a very normal and old medical process.”
Monárrez believes that this wording is unclear and hides the reality of abortion and the humans involved.
After a tense meeting with the House Population Health Subcommittee, TN Right To Life issued a scathing press release about the bill.
“While well-intentioned, in reality this bill, if enacted, would offer cover to those who abort children in our state and would delete large sections of pro-life measures in Tennessee code,” the release said.
Sam Traylor, president of the University of Tennessee’s College Republicans, clarified that while College Republicans supports the bill, he understands where lobbyists’ concerns are coming from.
“This does have some division in the party as a whole, simply because it is an ongoing debate whether or not a ban on abortion entails (providing exceptions for) medical emergencies, or no abortions period,” Traylor said. “The only issue that I can see from a possible legal standpoint is the wording. If a doctor is being told that they can practice ‘good judgment,’ this could potentially lead to corrupt doctors performing abortions.”
“But overall, I think that doctors should be allowed to perform an abortion if it is for medical reasons to preserve the life of the mother.”
The bill, along with a handful of others relating to reproductive health, is currently in the hands of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Its future is currently uncertain.
