Tennessee lawmakers pass abortion bills

With just under six months since the November 2014 voters’ decision to pass Amendment 1 in Tennessee, which added language to the Tennessee constitution giving legislators the power to enact, amend or repeal state statutes regarding abortion, the Tennessee House of Representatives and Senate took action.
After passing the Senate in a 27-5 vote on Wednesday, April 15, the House of Representatives approved HB977/SB 1222 in a 79-18 vote. The bill requires a 48 hour waiting period for women seeking abortions as well as implementing new regulations of abortion providers.
The bill adds the following regulations to physicians performing abortions for which they must provide to the woman (informed consent) prior to performing an abortion:
Confirmation of pregnancy and approximate gestational age of the fetus
The availability of numerous public and private agencies available to assist the woman if she decides to not have an abortion
The risks of both pregnancy and abortion
If a woman is more than 24 weeks pregnant, the physician must inform a woman her fetus may be viable and if a viable child is born during the course of an abortion, the physician has a legal obligation to take steps to preserve the health of the child. (however, there are no abortion clinics in Tennessee that perform abortions over 16 weeks of gestation)
However, the bill does allow for exceptions to the informed consent requirements to be waived in the event of a medical emergency.
Opponents of the bills, particularly requiring 48 hour waiting periods, said it places ‘undue burdens’ on women and is written in order to place obstacles in the way for women seeking an abortion.
Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt Juliet) introduced SB 1222 and called the bill a “sensible piece of legislation.”
SB 1280 was introduced by Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) and requires any facility or doctor’s office performing more than 50 abortions annually to be regulated as an ambulatory surgical treatment center.
“Last year in TN, abortions killed 16 times more people than a violent gun crime. Where are the liberals when it comes to ‘caring’ about life. 16,000 plus abortions in Tennessee alone,” Representative Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby) said. “What is wrong with informed consent? 48 hour waiting period is a good thing.”
Lawmakers also said the bills were in a direct response to the voters’ decision in November to approve Amendment 1.
“This legislation is specifically a response to the approval by a majority of voters on Amendment 1,” Representative Matthew Hill (R-Jonesborough) said. “Amendment 1 was presented to voters of Tennessee and to the citizens and they were told clearly time and time again that if Amendment 1 was adopted that informed consent, 48-hour waiting period and the inspection of facilities would be what the legislature brought forth. That’s why this legislation specifically deals with two of the three things that were specifically delineated during the campaign of Amendment 1.”
Both bills are now waiting on Governor Bill Haslam’s signature, which he has indicated he is planning to sign.