In the final meeting for the House Population Health Subcommittee Tuesday, bills that would protect contraceptive access and in vitro fertilization were mowed down by the Republican majority. 

Rep. Harold Love (D-Nashville) brought a bill (HB2227/SB1918) that would clarify that abortion does not include the use of contraception or the disposal of embryos leftover from IVF treatment. The bill failed. 

In February, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law, after three couples who saw their embryos destroyed in a fertility clinic accident brought a wrongful death case against the clinic. Some Alabama clinics paused services while considering the ruling, fearing criminal charges. Concurrently, Alabama lawmakers are working to pass legislation to protect IVF providers from future charges. 

Rep. Bryan Terry (R-Murfreesboro) argued that the proposed bill would allow for “selective abortion” in IVF and where both IVF and contraception are legal in the state of Tennessee. Love clarified that the bill applies only to embryos that are outside the body and have therefore not yielded a pregnancy. 

Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) made an attempt to enshrine contraception access in Tennessee law with (HB1943/SB1804), the Tennessee Contraceptive Freedom Act. That bill also failed. 

While her Republican colleagues said the bill would be obsolete because there is no law prohibiting access to contraception, Johnson cited a 2022 ProPublica investigation that revealed pro-life groups raised the idea of regulating access to contraception in the state. 

During the Tuesday subcommittee meeting, Rep. Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville) and Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis) also made a case for their Fundamental Right to Reproductive Health Care Act (HB1626/SB1590), a symbolic bill that would repeal 19 laws and fully legalize abortion in Tennessee, which was the law of the land before Roe v. Wade was overturned. It failed. 

Earlier in the session, Sen. Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville) teased a bill allowing exceptions mainly for fatal fetal anomalies or conditions that affect fertility, but that bill was tabled until next year. Briggs confirmed to Scene sister publication the Nashville Post that Sen. Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) is set to sponsor the bill, and expressed doubt that the bill, under caption bill SB2195/HB2462 with co-sponsor Rep. Esther Helton-Hayes (R-East Ridge), would be delayed until the next legislative session. 

Hensley did not immediately respond to the request for comment.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center, which was working on the bill with the legislators, said in a statement: “We support the bill that was filed and look forward to pursuing it again next year.” 

In a small win for the Democrats and reproductive freedom, SB1919/HB2356 — which would allow women and girls enrolled in TennCare to get a 12-month refill of birth control — passed the Senate on Monday, sponsored by Sen. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis). It is awaiting action in the House.

This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.

Tags

Like what you read?


Click here to become a member of the Scene !