Micah Van Huss thinks the third time is the charm.
On Wednesday, the Republican state representative from Jonesborough filed a bill that would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected except in limited circumstances, making this the third year in a row he has made such attempt.
Fetal heartbeats can be detected before some women even know they are pregnant, says Democratic state Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, “and so it’s ultimately a ban on abortion, which is unconstitutional.”
Last year, Van Huss introduced similar legislation, but concerns over its constitutionality led to a watered-down law that requires doctors to offer a woman the chance to review ultrasound images, when available, prior to an abortion.
His effort this year would go further, banning abortions after heartbeat detection except in medical emergencies.
In 2017, Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery said an earlier Van Huss effort to ban abortions after fetal heartbeats are detected was constitutionally suspect. Van Huss admits that his bill, if passed, “probably will” be challenged in court, but he is hopeful that the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which he calls the country’s most conservative and which hears federal appeals from Tennessee, would uphold the law.
Plus, he says, tying activists up in a prolonged, expensive legal battle could have secondary benefits.
“Every day that an abortion provider spends in court, that's a baby she's not killing, he's not killing, in a hospital, so I've got no problem getting in the fight,” he says.
Even pro-life activists opposed the bill Van Huss is now pushing once again. Last year, Tennessee Right to Life President Brian Harris called it unconstitutional and said it “would have been immediately enjoined and struck down.”
Johnson, a pro-choice activist, questions why a conservative like Van Huss would advocate for a law that further regulates people's lives. (Van Huss counters that he is trying “to keep our citizens safe.”)
“We've got to trust women to make the decisions that are right for them, in concert with their family, with their doctor, but not the government,” Johnson says. “We do not need the government in our doctors’ offices. It's always one of those small government guys who comes in with a bill to regulate women’s health care.”
