Far-left member of the Tennessee General Assembly earlier this week filed a lawsuit against 11 district attorneys general over a soon-to-be enacted abortion trafficking law signed by Governor Bill Lee (R).
State Representative Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville) and Nashville abortion activist and attorney Rachel Welty are listed as the plaintiffs in the case.
“Two years ago today, I vowed to aid and abet abortion always, to not give up despite the overturn of Roe v. Wade, and to fight,” Welty reportedly said. “I need to stand up for other advocates around the state who should not have to live in fear of civil or criminal penalties for disseminating information about routine healthcare.”
The defendants are District Attorneys General Bryant C. Dunaway, Jason Lawson, Jennings H. Jones, Robert J. Carter, Ray Whitley, Robert J. Nash, Glenn Funk, Stacey Edmonson, Brent Cooper, Ray Crouch, and Hans Schwendimann.
HB 1895 bans people unrelated to a minor seeking an abortion from transporting a minor across state lines in order to obtain an abortion. It was first introduced by State Representative Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) and signed into law by Lee in May.
“The Democrat representative has filed this lawsuit because she wants adults, who are not the parent or guardian of a minor, to be allowed to facilitate an abortion for a minor without the parents’ consent,” Zachary told The Tennessee Star on Wednesday. “This circumvents parents’ rights and preys on children during the most vulnerable times of their young lives. This has become [the] consistent position of radical Democrats. Tennesseans continue to reject the left’s radical ideology every election cycle when they send the Republican supermajority back to Nashville. 2024 will be no different.”
Behn did not return a comment request. An automatic email reply to The Star noted that she only checks her email sparingly since the General Assembly is out of session during the summer.
California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) was riled up over the passage of the bill and said the bill was “cruelty.”
Tennessee’s abortion ban has no exceptions if you have been raped. No exceptions if you’re the victim of incest,” he said on X. “Now, Republicans in Tennessee are trying to punish young women that travel to receive care. The Tennessee GOP aren’t alone in their cruelty. We have to fight back.”
Zachary challenged Newsom to a debate on the issue, but Newsom never responded.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on X/Twitter.
Photo “Aftyn Behn” by Aftyn Behn.
