Rep. Aftyn Behn on Lower Broad, April 10, 2024
Tennessee’s “abortion trafficking” legislation will not be enforced for now, with a judge ruling that it infringes upon the First Amendment right of free speech.
Under Public Chapter No. 1032, passed earlier this year, an adult who “intentionally recruits, harbors, or transports a pregnant unemancipated minor” for the purpose of receiving an abortion or obtaining abortion pills would face a class-A misdemeanor for “wrongful death of an unborn child,” which could result in one year of jail time.
Rep. Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville) and abortion fund member and attorney Rachel Welty brought a lawsuit against the district attorneys general for Middle Tennessee in June, asserting that the law could interfere with sharing information about abortion access in other states. Tennessee has a nearly total ban on abortion.
Plaintiffs allege violation of First Amendment rights, ask attorneys general not to enforce
United States District Judge Aleta A. Trauger wrote Friday that the defendants’ motion to dismiss was denied and Public Chapter No. 1032 should not be enforced.
“Welty and Behn do not just have a right to speak their message, they have a right to live in a state where that message can be repeated by all who find it valuable [and] to all who wish to hear it,” the judge writes. “Otherwise, there would be no actual freedom of speech — just freedom of a few speakers to address a silenced population.”
Daniel Horwitz, Sarah Martin and Melissa Dix served as counsel for the plaintiffs. The district attorneys general defendants include Glenn Funk in Davidson County, as well as Bryant C. Dunaway, Jason Lawson, Jennings H. Jones, Robert J. Carter, Ray Whitley, Robert J. Nash, Stacey Edmonson, Brent Cooper, Ray Crouch and Hans Schwendimann.
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Idaho passed a similar law in 2023, which was blocked in November. Proceedings are still underway in a federal appeals court.
“This is a monumental victory for free speech and the fight for abortion rights,” Behn says in a statement. “This law was a blatant attempt to stifle crucial conversations about abortion resources and intimidate people into silence. But today, we celebrate that the court has affirmed our right to speak openly about abortion options without fear of legal repercussions."
Welty says in a statement: "As an attorney, this victory is a powerful affirmation of our right to provide clear and confident counsel on abortion care. This law directly attacked the attorney-client relationship, threatening the ability to offer trusted legal advice without fear of prosecution."
This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
