‘Abortion Trafficking’ Law Killed at Federal Level

A 2024 Tennessee law seeking to prevent minors from traveling out of state for abortions was struck down Thursday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, citing a conflict with the First Amendment. 

In its original state, the law made it a crime to “recruit, harbor or transport” a pregnant minor to obtain an abortion out of state. Those charged would face a class-A misdemeanor for “wrongful death of an unborn child,” which could result in one year of jail time. The law did not apply to parents or to adults with written parental permission. 

‘Abortion Trafficking’ Passes Senate, Would Penalize Adults for Helping Minors Get Abortions

As the bill makes its way through the legislature, Democrat Aftyn Behn calls it ‘a harbinger of even worse things to come’

State Rep. Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville) and attorney Rachel Welty filed a lawsuit in June 2024 — before the law was put into effect — against the district attorneys general in the Middle District of Tennessee, contending the provision violates the First Amendment. The legal action centered on the “recruitment” clause, as Behn and Welty both openly shared information about how to obtain abortions legally in other states. Behn told the Scene in 2024 that if the bill were to become law, she would welcome arrest for helping minors obtain abortions.

In September 2024, U.S. District Judge Aleta A. Trauger temporarily blocked the enforcement of the law. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in July 2025 that the law indeed violated the First Amendment. In addition, the court noted that Tennessee cannot legislate access to legal abortions in other states. Shortly after, the state sought to appeal the ruling in an effort to put the “abortion trafficking” law back into effect. 

“I’m grateful that the Court of Appeals affirmed our victory,” co-plantiff Welty says in a statement. “Young people facing difficult decisions deserve accurate information, compassionate support, and the freedom to make their own choices. This ruling protects every advocate and medical provider’s ability to speak openly with them about legal options without fear of prosecution. I’m proud to have stood with Aftyn Behn to defend that right.”

When the legislation was introduced in 2024 by Rep. Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) and Sen. Paul Rose (R-Tipton), it closely resembled an Idaho law passed in 2023 that had already been blocked from enforcement by a federal judge.

‘Abortion Trafficking’ Bill Proceeds Despite Federal Block of Similar Law

Meanwhile, more abortion-exception legislation fails

In addition, last week Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi brought legal action against Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti after his office launched an investigation into the organization. Skrmetti’s office made a sweeping request that includes some medical records of adult and minor patients.

“The First Amendment protects the freedom to speak, to associate, and to fund speech without the government building a list of who’s involved,” Behn says in a statement. “Using investigative power to chill protected activity is not a workaround to a constitutional ruling, it is the same constitutional problem in a different form. 

“The Sixth Circuit held what the Constitution has always required," she continues. "The State of Tennessee cannot criminalize speech about topics the Republican Supermajority and the Attorney General’s office deems iniquitous, and it cannot export its abortion ban across state lines to regulate conduct its own laws do not govern.”