Governor Bill Lee signed a bill on Friday that introduces a new exception to the limits on abortions in the State of Tennessee. The bill created an amendment to the previous law that allows a physician to perform an abortion in certain circumstances that put the mother’s life physically in danger.
Previously, Tennessee law provided no exceptions. The newly signed legislation allows for “termination of a pregnancy with the intent to terminate an ectopic or molar pregnancy to the list of actions that do not constitute criminal abortion.”
The State House of Representatives approved the bill in an 83-11 vote, with two state representatives present and not voting. Nine of the eleven members voting against the abortion limits exceptions were Democrats.
State Representative Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville), who voted against the exceptions, said in a tweet on Friday that the bill “will not come close to covering the vast number of reasons women and girls have life threatening emergencies when pregnant.”
Yes, this will not come close to covering the vast number of reasons women and girls have life threatening emergencies when pregnant. Women and girls continue to be at great risk in TN when pregnant. https://t.co/opmMzjuFOG
— Rep. Gloria Johnson (@VoteGloriaJ) April 28, 2023
State Representative Bo Mitchell (D-Nashville), who also voted against the exceptions, said, “At the end of the day, I look at this and we’re still making a doctor make a legal decision instead of a medical decision.”
The state Senate motioned to substitute and conform to the state House of Representatives bill. The bill then passed in a 26-1 vote. State Senator Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) was the lone “nay” vote against adding the exceptions. Four senators were present and not voting.
State Senator London Lamar (D-Memphis), who voted present, said, “This is not solving the issue at hand. And I am just very disappointed at the state of women’s health…that a woman has to be damn near on her death bed in order for a doctor to save her life.”
The bill clarifies that the exception only applies in life-threatening physical situations, as opposed to mental health-related crises: “A claim or a diagnosis that the woman will engage in conduct that would result in her death or substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function or for any reason relating to her mental health is insufficient to establish this element of the defense.”
The bill became law immediately upon Lee’s signing.
– – –
Mac Roberts is a reporter at The Tennessee Star. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Bill Lee” by Gov. Bill Lee. Background Photo “Tennessee State Capitol” by Ken Lund. CC BY-SA 2.0.
