In a state with one of the strictest abortion bans in the country, a bill establishing a limited carveout for doctors is on its way to the Senate floor.
SB0745 passed 8-1 in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, after passing on the House floor Monday night. Clinicians like Amy Gordon Bono initially supported the bill, which allowed doctors to use their “good faith judgment” when treating a patient. Since February, amendments have been added to change its meaning.
During committee debate Tuesday, Republican legislators referred to SB0745 as a “compromise bill” to appease anti-abortion organization Tennessee Right to Life. The latest version of the bill lists ectopic pregnancy, a dead fetus and molar pregnancy as exceptions to Tennessee’s strict abortion ban. It also slashes the “good faith judgment” language, replacing it with “reasonable medical judgment” to prevent death of a pregnant patient or spare them from the irreversible, severe impairment of a major bodily function.
Under the current law, doctors are at risk of a felony charge for performing an abortion. They are protected only in part by an affirmative defense, under which they could prove in court that the abortion was performed to save the life of the patient. Physicians said it would have a chilling effect on the profession when Tennessee’s abortion ban took effect in August.
Cutting the affirmative defense clause is a step in the right direction, says Bono, a primary care physician who serves on the boards of advocacy groups Forward Tennessee and Protect My Care. However, the elimination of the “good faith judgment” phrasing leaves the waters murky, she says.
“We’re at this next level of uncertainty in clinical care scenarios,” Bono says. “We’re trained to lean on our patients, practice patient-centered care. That’s a true downfall of what was passed. We’re looking to special interest groups like Tennessee Right to Life. ... We’re not respecting our patients as much as we need to right now.”
In a statement, Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis) says the final draft of the bill had no input from doctors, nurses or people who had been pregnant.
“The legislation endangers the lives of women by perversely increasing legal protections for doctors the closer their pregnant patients get to death," Lamar says. “That’s an irresponsible and unconstitutional burden to put on women and health care providers. And it is exactly why doctors and women should be empowered to make life-saving decisions without government interference.”
In addition, a bill that would define “elective abortions” was put on ice yesterday in the House Population Health Subcommittee. Earlier this session, a bill that would add exceptions for rape or incest was shelved as well, despite support from GOP House Speaker Cameron Sexton.
This article first ran via our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
