Rep. Aftyn Behn on Lower Broad, April 10, 2024
A bill that passed the Senate on Wednesday would penalize adults who help a minor who is not their child obtain an abortion. If HB1895/SB1971 passes in the House as well, those adults could also be held liable for “the wrongful death of an unborn child that was aborted.”
The definition of “abortion trafficking,” a term used in the legislation, is unclear. The bill would apply to someone who “recruits, harbors, or transports” a minor to obtain an abortion or conceals or procures that abortion.
On Wednesday afternoon, Rep. Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville), along with representatives of pro-abortion-rights group Abortion Care Tennessee, pointed out the vagueness of the legislation. They took to Lower Broadway to share information about out-of-state abortion options, an act Behn says could potentially become illegal under the bill.
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“I think people are very curious about the state of things, and when you relay what’s being passed in terms of the abortion trafficking bill, they're just in shock,” Behn told the Scene.
“Unfortunately, in a country with ever-fluid changing abortion laws, this bill is a test case, a test piece of legislation so that it can not only be adopted in other states, but nationally, to be taken to the Supreme Court to further erode our rights. I really look at this bill as a harbinger of even worse things to come.”
Behn told the Scene if the bill becomes law, she welcomes arrest for helping minors obtain abortions. It is currently unclear if an organization like Abortion Care Tennessee, which helps pay for and arrange out-of-state abortions, would be criminalized for arranging travel, which is also prohibited under the bill.
The debate could become a moot point, however. A similar law that was passed in Idaho in 2023 has been blocked from enforcement by a federal judge. Pro-choice advocacy groups have also challenged the law in court, saying it violates the First Amendment (a doctor’s right to discuss abortion with minors) and the Fourth Amendment (a person's right to travel freely between states).
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During the Senate floor session Wednesday morning, Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) sought to amend the bill to allow trusted adults to assist a minor in obtaining an abortion, pointing to situations in which parents are not the trusted adult in a child’s life. The amendment failed.
The punishment for “abortion trafficking” is also yet to be decided. The bill that moved forward in the Senate Wednesday would charge the adult in question with a class-A misdemeanor, which would require a nearly one-year prison sentence. The House version would increase the charge to a class-C felony, which can carry up to a 15-year prison sentence and up to $10,000 in fines.
The “abortion trafficking” bill is one of the few remaining abortion-related bills this session. Legislation that would allow for exceptions for rape and incest was killed earlier in the session, and a bill that would allow an abortion in cases of fatal fetal anomalies was ultimately never introduced.
Tennessee has a nearly total abortion ban in place. A pregnant person cannot get an abortion in the state at any period of gestation unless their life is in danger, or it’s an ectopic or molar pregnancy. Tennessee physicians and patients are currently suing in an effort to gain clarity on when the line of endangerment is crossed.
