At a Wednesday House Health Committee meeting, state representatives voted to pass a bill that would charge adults with a felony for helping a minor who is not their child obtain an abortion.
Supporters of the bill call the act “abortion trafficking.” Much of Wednesday’s debate centered on the bill’s language, which would bring charges against an adult who “recruits, harbors, or transports” a minor in addition to “concealing” or “procuring” an act that would constitute a criminal abortion. Additionally, the legislation would ban obtaining abortion pills for an emancipated minor. The only exemption is for medical providers to provide emergency care for minor patients regardless of parental consent — something that was added in an amendment.
Democrats raised concerns during the committee meeting — they questioned whether, when pregnant minors go to lawyers or youth pastors for help, those adults would be breaking the law by not telling the child’s parent. Rep. Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) said Democrats’ questions were not related to the bill. Medical providers testified on the harm that pregnancy can bring to a minor’s physical and mental health.
Rep. Sam Whitson (R-Franklin) crossed party lines to vote against HB1895, expressing concern that if a young couple with one person older than 18 took their minor partner to get an abortion, they would be criminalized.
Zachary said HB1895/SB1971 is a parental rights bill, designed to ensure that a parent must approve of medical care, including an abortion for their child. No date is set for the bill’s next hearing.
The bill resembles a 2023 Tennessee law that, in practice, prohibited foster parents and grandparents raising their grandchildren from taking minors to get any vaccine, including a flu shot or a COVID-19 vaccination. The bill is also similar to an Idaho law passed in 2023, which 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). In Texas, on the local level, at least four counties have adopted ordinances to allow private citizens to sue those who help women travel to obtain an abortion.
On Tuesday, a bill brought by Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) that would have allowed abortions for minors 13 and younger failed in the Population Health Subcommittee. Earlier this month, a bill that would have allowed for abortions in cases of rape and incest was killed as well.
Sen. Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville) teased a bill allowing exceptions mainly for fatal fetal anomalies or conditions that affect fertility. Briggs confirmed to Scene sister publication the Nashville Post earlier this month that Sen. Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) is set to sponsor the bill. Hensley is also the sponsor of a bill that would require the state health department to publish information on reversing the effects of a medication abortion in additional languages. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, reversal is not supported by science.
