Despite public support, adding exceptions for rape or incest to Tennessee’s abortion ban likely won’t happen this year.
Sen. Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin), who sponsored Senate Bill 857, moved the bill to the general subcommittee instead of bringing it to a vote on Tuesday, a move that effectively kills the bill for this year.
The bill would have legalized abortions in cases of rape or incest. Of note, the bill would have required the pregnant person to file a police report to receive the abortion, and the legislation included a criminal sentence of three years in jail if a patient filed a false police report.
Another bill could provide some protections to medical providers who perform the procedure. Senate Bill 983, filed by Sen. Ken Yager (R-Kingston), is set to be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 14. It would ban only “elective abortions,” defined as abortions deemed not medically necessary to prevent death or “irreversible impairment.”
Gov. Bill Lee and speaker of the Senate Sen. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) support the law as written, though abortion exceptions are an issue that divides members of the state GOP.
Tennessee’s abortion ban was passed as the Human Life Protection Act at the state legislature in 2019. It went into effect in August, triggered by the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Under the law, physicians are at risk of a felony charge for performing an abortion, with the only caveat being that they have an affirmative defense in court if they performed the procedure to save the life of the mother.
Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has concerns about the existing law, Tennessee lawmakers said in a recent teleconference, according to the Associated Press. House Speaker Cameron Sexton, a Republican who has supported adding exceptions to the ban, said Skrmetti advised lawmakers that proposed changes to the abortion ban would better protect it from court challenges.
More people in Tennessee now describe themselves as pro-choice than pro-life, according to the latest Vanderbilt Poll. The poll administered to more than 1,000 registered Tennessee voters in November found 75 percent believed abortions should be legal in cases of rape or incest. That includes 62 percent of Republicans, 78 percent of independents and 93 percent of Democrats.
