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Feud Has GOP Lawmakers Targeted By Anti-Abortion Groups

Tennessee Right to Life held a press conference on June 24 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Lawmakers including Rep. Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka (by Tennessee flag, partially obscured,) Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, in navy jacket and khaki pants, and left of podium, House Majority Leader Williams Lamberth, R-Portland. (Photo: John Partipilo)

State lawmakers are defending themselves against attacks from anti-abortion groups accusing them of trying to derail Tennessee’s new restrictions.

Tennessee Right to Life and Tennessee Stands are targeting members of the Population Health Subcommittee, mainly Republicans, and urging people to call and email them after they approved legislation designed to change the “affirmative defense” provision in state law in an effort to stop the “criminalization” of physicians who save the lives of women involved in deadly pregnancies. 

Under current law, a doctor could be charged with a felony and forced to prove in court that an abortion was necessary to save a woman’s life. The law prohibiting abortions in Tennessee, without clear protection for physicians and exceptions for rape and incest, took effect in August 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

The subcommittee voted in favor of the bill last week after House Speaker Cameron Sexton joined the fray and criticized Right to Life counsel Will Brewer for threatening negative scores against legislators who supported the bill.

“Saving the mother’s life isn’t an elective abortion – it is an emergency.”

Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville

State Rep. Andrew Farmer, a Sevierville Republican who supported the legislation, said Monday he can accept scoring by lobbying groups. Nevertheless, Farmer said he is “very disappointed” in Tennessee Right to Life.

“I never expected them to stoop to the level of misinformation. It’s like the next thing I know I’m going to see Will Brewer standing beside (President) Joe Biden arguing the country’s in the best shape it’s ever been in,” Farmer said. “They’re just saying anything they can say to make us look bad, and that’s just not professional.”

Tennessee Right to Life sent form letters to its members late last week saying House Bill 883 is being presented as a “clarification” with an exception to save the life of the mother, including treatment for ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages, but that it will almost completely rewrite the law.

“While well-intentioned, in reality this bill, if enacted, would offer cover for those who abort children in our state and would delete large sections of pro-life measures in Tennessee code,” the mailer says.

Sexton, a Crossville Republican, pointed out the “trigger” law makes saving the life of the mother a Class C felony that requires the physician to prove their innocence, “meaning they are automatically considered guilty.” The Tennessee Medical Association supports the legislation. “What kind of Republicans vote for legislation to weaken abortion laws in Tennessee?” asked Gary Humble of Tennessee Stands in a video message to his supporters.

The Speaker also noted the current law is “silent” on “lethal fetal anomalies,” which aren’t genetic anomalies or birth defects, including situations in which a fetus is diagnosed with anencephaly, a type of neural tube defect in which an unborn child lacks parts of the brain and skull.

“Saving the mother’s life isn’t an elective abortion – it is an emergency,” Sexton said Monday. “If the intent of the ‘trigger’ bill is to not save the life of the mother, then no clarification is needed. I believe it was the intent of the bill, and therefore, it needs clarification.”

The Right to Life mailer also contends the legislation would allow portions of “pro-life laws” to be removed, enable physicians to “abort children if they believe there is a ‘lethal fetal anomaly’ or if they think a baby has a condition that is ‘incompatible with life,’” require physicians accused of an illegal abortion to explain their actions to a state medical board, and allow physicians “to end the life of a baby if they claim it is to prevent or treat a medical emergency.”

“So a baby could be aborted to prevent a condition that may never happen,” the mailer says. 

In addition, Gary Humble, leader of the advocacy group Tennessee Stands, sent out a video link saying, “What kind of Republicans vote for legislation to weaken abortion laws in Tennessee?” One of his messages points out Farmer voted for the bill.

Brewer told the subcommittee last week his group doesn’t consider the bill a piece of “pro-life” legislation and said it would allow “quasi-elective” abortions. Farmer, in contrast, argued that it is designed to save women and babies by allowing physicians to make life-saving decisions. Tennessee Right to Life sent a mailer to members last week saying a bill to provide exceptions to the state’s abortion ban to save a pregnant woman’s life would “rewrite the law,” a statement  Republican Rep. Andrew Farmer described as misinformation.

Only one member of the subcommittee, Rep. Bryan Terry, R-Murfreesboro, voted against the bill. It is to be heard Wednesday by the Health Committee, which he chairs.

Rep. Caleb Hemmer, a Nashville Democrat who voted for the legislation last week, said he welcomes groups and advocates to express their concerns but believes those sending out these messages are “misguided” about the bill.

“It actually helps clarify a lot of things in the law and has been carefully negotiated with legislative leaders, physician and hospital groups, advocates, as well as the Attorney General’s Office,” Hemmer said.

Despite Tennessee Right to Life’s stance, Hemmer said he is “comfortable” with the legislation’s language, including “protections for physicians to do their jobs and fulfill their Hippocratic Oath and protect the lives of mothers and babies.”

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.

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Lines Drawn for Renewed Abortion Fight In Nashville

Source: Tennessee State Government

The fight over Tennessee’s strict abortion law is set to start this week in a House subcommittee slated to hear legislation removing the “affirmative defense” for physicians who perform an abortion to save the life of a mother.

State Rep. Esther Helton-Haynes, R-East Ridge, is sponsoring House Bill 883, which will be designed to clear up confusion and enable doctors to make decisions without the threat of prosecution. Doctors can be charged with a felony for performing an abortion under the “trigger” law that took effect last August after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and sent abortion decisions back to states.

“Right now it’s affirmative defense, and there needs to be an exception for the life of the mother,” Helton-Haynes told the Tennessee Lookout. “I believe moms matter. Oftentimes they have babies at home, other children at home that need them, and that’s why I’m carrying the bill.”

The measure could pit Helton-Haynes against Tennessee Right to Life, which was waiting Monday morning to see the legislation’s language. The group opposes a “subjective” decision by physicians to perform an abortion to save a woman’s life but could agree to language that makes those decisions “objective.”

Helton-Haynes, however, said, “I think that’s difficult if a mother’s hemorrhaging, to be objective.” Right to Life wants more diagnostic testing, but sometimes the doctor needs to know what to do and “take care of it,” she said.

The Attorney General’s Office is helping her craft the language in House Bill 883 to make sure it’s constitutionally sound. Republican Sen. Richard Briggs of Knoxville is sponsoring the Senate version.

The Tennessee Medical Association is making HB883 its first initiative for the legislation session. The measure clarifies exceptions to criminal abortion when the life or health of the mother are in danger, including for common procedures such as ectopic pregnancies as well as ending a pregnancy in which a “non-survivable fetal anomaly is diagnosed,” in addition to providing immunity for pharmacists who dispense drugs for inducing abortions, according to a memo from the association.

Right now it’s affirmative defense, and there needs to be an exception for the life of the mother. . . I think that’s difficult if a mother’s hemorrhaging, to be objective.

– Rep. Esther Helton-Haynes, R-East Ridge

The Tennessee Medical Association is encouraging its members to show support for the bill by wearing their white coats and attending Tuesday’s meeting to “convey a “powerful message” to the Legislature.

Briggs, a physician, has been saying for months that the law needs to be clarified so doctors will be able to follow their professional oath and save the life of a pregnant woman without worrying about prosecution. He has acknowledged he didn’t understand the legislation when it passed four years ago and didn’t think the Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade.

While it has HB883 on its radar, Tennessee Right to Life is going after lawmakers trying to change the state’s abortion law to provide exceptions for rape, incest and to save the life of the mother in dangerous pregnancies.

Will Brewer, executive director of Tennessee Right to Life, confirmed that the group opposes a “subjective” decision by a physician to perform an abortion when a mother is going through a dangerous pregnancy, though it could support an “objective” decision.

A group of doctors attempt to get Gov. Bill Lee’s attention after an October 2021 press conference. The Tennessee Medical Association is urging physicians to attend hearings to support legislation to change the state’s abortion laws.(Photo:John Partipilo)

The anti-abortion group is sending emails to constituents encouraging them to challenge legislation that dials back restrictions that took effect in August 2022.

“The Human Life Protection Act is one of the strongest laws in the nation to protect unborn children and is working as legislators intended when they passed it in 2019,” the Tennessee Right to Life email says. Yet the law is “now under attack,” the missive continues.

Co-sponsors added their names to legislation last week allowing for abortions in cases of rape and incest and to remove “affirmative defense” from cases involving the life of the mother in which doctors could face felony charges for performing an abortion for saving a woman’s life.

While talks are under way on some legislation, Brewer said Tennessee Right to Life will not support Senate Bill 857 by Sen. Ferrell Haile and House Bill 1440 by Rep. Iris Rudder, which exempts cases of rape and incest from the offense of criminal abortion.

Despite the addition of sponsors, Brewer said, “I don’t think they have enough momentum to change it, so I don’t think it’s a done deal.”

The group also objects to weakening the affirmative defense portion of the law, though it has been working with lawmakers to come up with a “clarifying” measure, according to Brewer, and that remains the “preferred path.”

Helton-Haynes also is sponsoring HB778, which would limit criminal abortions to “elective” procedures and define those as not medically necessary to prevent the death or serious injury to a pregnant woman. It is sponsored in the Senate by Senate Republican Caucus Chairman Ken Yager of Kingston.

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.

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State GOP Lawmakers Want to Loosen TN Abortion Law

State Capitol (Credit: Tennessee State Government)

by Sam Stockard, Tennessee Lookout

Six months after one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion laws took effect in Tennessee, state lawmakers are ready to loosen it. 

Sen. Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin) confirmed to the Tennessee Lookout this week he is preparing legislation to make rape and incest exceptions to the “trigger” law, which was enacted in 2019 before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer.

Senate Republican Caucus Chairman Ken Yager (R-Kingston) also is set to sponsor a bill to change the “affirmative defense” mechanism that criminalizes physicians who perform abortions to save the life of a mother going through a deadly pregnancy. 

“I’m certainly going to support that piece of (Yager) legislation going forward, and I’m still looking at some other options,” Haile, a Gallatin Republican, said this week.

Haile and Yager are both leaders of the Senate Republican Caucus and are likely to be given leeway by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) to carry their bills through the legislative process without him trying to quash them, though McNally is satisfied with the law as written.

Yager recently said his legislation would “strengthen protections” for doctors who perform abortions to save the life of the mother or stop her from suffering the loss of bodily functions by changing the “affirmative defense” exception “to a clear exception when the life of the mother is in clear jeopardy.”

House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) says he would back measures to create exceptions to abortion restrictions; GOP Sen. Ken Yager, Kingston, and Sen. Ferrell Haile of Gallatin confirm they are set to sponsor legislation. No such legislation has been proposed in the House.

“Although well intended, the affirmative defense provision is not only overly burdensome for physicians but it can prevent them from performing life-saving abortions for fear of litigation, which puts at risk the lives of pregnant women who require medically necessary abortions,” Yager said in a statement.

The Kingston Republican noted he has heard from constituents and doctors who support such a bill. He added that “abortion would remain illegal” under his legislation in Tennessee.

Yet another heavy hitter, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, is saying he would back exceptions to the abortion restrictions.

“Speaker Sexton believes clarification is needed in the current law, as well as a change to affirmative defense — meaning someone has to prove their innocence which runs contrary to our judicial system. A doctor should not be singled out under affirmative defense instead of the usual standard of being innocent until proven guilty,” spokesman Doug Kufner said this week. “As with any legislation, should a proposal with agreeable language make it through the committee system to the House floor — including exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother — the speaker would be supportive.”

Sexton is expected to appoint a committee when the General Assembly convenes this week, along with standing committees, that would shepherd such legislation through the House.

Tennessee Right to Life PAC, which pushed the “trigger bill” to passage, withdrew an endorsement of Republican Sen. Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville) for saying he supports changes to the law. It will be interesting to see if they harangue Speaker Sexton, Yager, and Haile. Former legislator Roger Kane, leader of the Tennessee Right to Life PAC said last week he doesn’t expect to pull any other endorsements, even if legislators sponsor bills to tweak the law. Briggs was targeted, Kane said, because he kept seeking out the media to make his point.

Right to Life counsel Will Brewer said this week he is set to meet with Yager and Haile and is waiting to see the legislation but still opposes “any changes in the abstract.”

Democrats said last summer they would be proposing a litany of bills designed to turn back the state’s abortion ban, which is among the most stringent in the nation.

Rep. Yusuf Hakeem (D-Chattanooga) is sponsoring HB10, that specifies a criminal abortion doesn’t include a procedure necessitated by a medical emergency affecting the physical or mental health of the mother or one performed on a patient whose pregnancy was the result of rape or incest. It requires the doctor who performs the abortion to verify the patient reported the offense to law enforcement before the procedure.

Hakeem filed his bill weeks ago, but it would be fairly amazing to see this Republican-controlled Legislature allow a Democrat to turn back a bill they worked so hard to pass, only to realize they angered every physician in Tennessee, in addition to many women who, like it or not, go to the ballot box.



Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.

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Abortion Still Illegal As Tennessee Abortion Drug Law Takes Effect

Photo by Christine Sandu on Unsplash

The “Tennessee Abortion-Inducing Drug Risk Protocol Act” was passed on May 9, 2022, and took effect on January 1, 2023.

According to the state of Tennessee, this act states that abortion-inducing drugs must be provided only by a qualified physician in a medical facility. This prohibits the distribution of the drug, even by pharmacies, physicians, and qualified physicians, through delivery and mail services.

This does not ban Plan B or other emergency contraceptives.

Recently, the Food and Drug Administration announced that they would be expanding access to abortion-inducing drugs. This means that pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens will be able to provide pills such as Mifepristone.

As of December 1, 2022, the Guttmacher Institute says that medical abortions account for 54 percent of all abortions. While this law took effect this year, abortion is still illegal in the state of Tennessee. Governor Bill Lee signed the Tennessee Abortion-Inducing Drug Risk Protocol Act into law in May of 2022, prior to the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Many were thrilled regarding the FDA’s announcement, as it marks a monumental step in abortion access. In a statement, the American Civil Liberties Union said, “The FDA’s decision comes at a crisis moment for reproductive freedom, as access to abortion has plummeted nationwide in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overruling Roe v. Wade.”

However, Tennesseans, such as state House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland), did not share this excitement. In regards to abortion-inducing pills, Lamberth recently tweeted, “In Tennessee we value the lives of mothers AND their children. It isn’t just a pill, this pill kills a child.”  

On August 25, 2022, a Tennessee law went into effect that made providing abortions a felony. 

As we reported in August, the Human Life Protection Act “was passed in 2019 just in case the U.S. Supreme Court ever overturned the landmark Roe. v. Wade.”

The current law does not allow abortions in cases of rape, incest, or any fetal abnormality that could prove fatal to the baby. The law only allows an abortion in Tennessee if giving birth would kill the pregnant woman or would prevent “serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of major bodily function.”

The text of the bill defines abortion as “the elective use or prescription of an instrument, medicine, drug, or other substance, or device, with the intent to terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a patient, with knowledge that the termination by those means will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of the unborn child.”

According to the text of the bill, a qualified physician has the “ability to identify and document a viable intrauterine pregnancy,” and “assess the gestational age of pregnancy and inform the patient of gestational age-specific risks.”

Among other duties, a qualified physician must also “supervise and bear legal responsibility for an agent, employee, or contractor who is participating in any part of a procedure, including, but not limited to, pre-procedure evaluation and care.”

The bill also defines an “abortion-inducing drug” as a “medicine, drug, or other substance provided with the intent of terminating the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a patient, with knowledge that the termination will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of the unborn child.”

This also includes drugs “known to have abortion-inducing properties that are prescribed specifically with the intent of causing an abortion.” Some of these drugs are Mifepristone, Misoprostol, and Methotrexate.

Violation in this act results in a Class E felony, and the individual can be fined no more than $50,000. The patient, however, will not receive any criminal penalties.

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Tennessee Healthcare Leaders Ask Legislature to Reverse Abortion Ban

Dr. Amy Gordon Bono, a primary care physician, speaking outside the Tennessee Capitol on Wednesday about the state’s “trigger law” that bans abortions. The law took effect at midnight. (Photo: John Partipilo)

More than 700 Tennessee doctors, nurses and other medical professionals are calling on the state’s GOP-super majority Legislature to revisit an abortion ban that criminalizes the procedure with no exceptions and subjects doctors who perform it to prosecution, fines and jail time.

In an open letter to the legislature, published in a full page ad in The Tennessean on Sunday, the healthcare professionals are asking the General Assembly to “reconsider the ‘trigger law.’”

“Tennesseans should have the right to make personal health care decisions with the assistance of their doctors and healthcare team – without the intrusion of politicians,” the letter says.

“This law puts the government in charge of deciding which healthcare options are available to patients, setting a dangerous precedent that violates the sacred physician-patient relationship.”

“And because it includes zero exceptions – not for rape, incest, fetal anomaly, or even to protect the mother’s life – it forces health care providers to balance appropriate medical care with the risk of criminal prosecution.”

Tennessee’s trigger law, formally named the “Human Life Protection Act,” took effect Aug. 25, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark abortion rights case, Roe v Wade and left to individual states the right to set abortion rules.

In Tennessee, the law makes performing an abortion a Class C felony, punishable for up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 for anyone who performs one. There are no exceptions for rape or incest. Instead of containing an exception to the law for abortions necessary to spare the life of, or grave harm to, a pregnant patient, the law says doctors may use those circumstances as an affirmative defense in a criminal trial.

All Tennessee abortion clinics have ceased offering the procedure;  women seeking abortions must travel out of state. And doctors say they fear they will be prosecuted for providing life-saving abortions.

The signers of the paid ad are individuals, not the hospitals that employ them. Hospitals have declined to answer reporters’ questions about how they will comply with the law and whether they are permitting any life-saving abortions to be performed at their facilities.

“We are doing the heavy lifting ourselves—and that means funding the effort ourselves, as well,” said Dr. Amy Gordon Bono, a Nashville physician.

The letter was initiated by Dr. Nikki Zite, a Knoxville OB-GYN, Dr. Heather Maune, a Nashville OB-GYN, and Dr. Jessica Rosen, a Nashville emergency medicine physician, a news release said.

“This letter quickly gained support from so many colleagues because healthcare workers don’t want a ban without exceptions,” Dr. Zite said. “Medical professionals understand that there are situations, often heartbreaking, when ending a pregnancy is necessary. People don’t want physicians delaying care because they fear being criminalized.”

Organizers are working to next run the ad in the Tennessean online, Dr. Bono said.

The letter does not include specific recommendations for whether the law should be amended or overturned, but notes the law, as it is written now, could criminalize routine and urgent medical procedures, including tubal pregnancies, serious infections or cancers during pregnancy and miscarriage care.

 

Full text of the letter:

As medical professionals from across Tennessee, we call on our legislature to reconsider the “trigger law,” which bans abortion without exception and criminalizes physicians for providing lifesaving care.

This law makes ending any pregnancy a felony offense, even when the pregnancy cannot survive to viability and threatens the life of the mother. This impacts women experiencing miscarriages, tubal pregnancies, or even serious infections or cancers during pregnancy.

Tennesseans should have the right to make personal health care decisions with the assistance of their doctors and healthcare team – without the intrusion of politicians. This law puts the government in charge of deciding which healthcare options are available to patients, setting a dangerous precedent that violates the sacred physician-patient relationship. And because it includes zero exceptions – not for rape, incest, fetal anomaly, or even to protect the mother’s life – it forces health care providers to balance appropriate medical care with the risk of criminal prosecution.

We stand united in support of Tennesseans to make their own medical decisions including abortion care, and we affirm the position of all relevant national societies, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Medical Association in their opposition of this dangerous legislation.

This story originally published in Tennessee Lookout, part of States Newsroom, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and a coalition of donors and readers.

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“Not Pro-Life, Pro-Baby, or Pro-Mom,” Abortion-Ban Critics Sound Off

Photo by Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash

Providing abortions in Tennessee is now a felony thanks to the state-Republican-led law that took effect Thursday with critics calling the law “dangerous” and a government overreach. 

The new law, the so-called Human Life Protection Act, was passed in 2019 just in case the U.S. Supreme Court ever overturned the landmark Roe. v. Wade decision that gave federal protection for abortions across the country. The reversal of the ruling earlier this summer allowed the Tennessee abortion ban to go into effect after 30 days.

The law does not allow abortions in cases of rape, incest, or any fetal abnormality that could prove fatal to the baby. The law only allows an abortion in Tennessee if giving birth would kill the pregnant woman or would prevent “serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of major bodily function.” Should an abortion be performed illegally here, doctors and healthcare workers would be held responsible, not the pregnant woman.    

Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi (PPTNM) was forced to stop abortion services completely on June 27th, said Ashley Coffield, the group’s CEO, in a news conference this week, as the state was under a six-week ban at the time. She said the law will make “doctors second-guess their medical training and expertise when choosing a treatment plan or risk a felony of criminal conviction” and that “now lawyers and hospital administrators will be weighing in on life-or-death scenarios.”

“Politicians in Tennessee intentionally created this climate of chaos, confusion, and devastation for people who become pregnant. Banning abortion doesn’t stop people from needing abortion,” Coffield said. “It only puts more peoples’ lives in danger. Governor [Bill] Lee and the Tennessee General Assembly want to control what we can and cannot do with our bodies at Planned Parenthood. We believe that you and only you should control your personal medical decisions and we will keep fighting for every person to regain that right here at home, no matter what.”

PPTNM is now focusing on its patients, directing them to abortion providers in other states. Through this patient navigation service, the group is also helping patients travel to other states and helping them to pay for the trip with gas cards, hotel vouchers, and more.

Tennessee Democrats sounded off on the new law Thursday, rebuking the move, calling abortion a “moral and personal issue” unfit for government interference, and stating “our caucuses are committed to reproductive freedom.”

“This government mandate on reproductive healthcare endangers the lives of women during a crisis pregnancy and gives rapists a greater right to choose the mother of their child than a woman has to control her own future,” reads a joint statement from state Senate Democratic caucus chairwoman Sen. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis), House Minority Leader Rep. Karen Camper (D-Memphis), and House Democratic caucus chairman Rep. Vincent Dixie (D-Nashville). “There should be clear protections for mothers if their life and health are in danger, and a victim of rape should not be victimized twice.

“Pregnancy is no place for big government. Choosing to start a family is a moral and a personal issue. Women should be trusted to start a family when they’re ready — without interference from the government.”

Senate minority leader Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) called the ban “extreme” and said “our already high rates of infant and maternal deaths will go up. It’s not pro-life, pro-baby, or pro-mom.”

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Planned Parenthood Documentary “Standing Strong” Premieres in Memphis

Protesters at the Tennessee State Captiol in Savannah Bearden's new documentary Standing Strong.

A new documentary by Savannah Bearden about the loss of abortion rights in Tennessee in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision will have its premiere in Memphis.

Bearden, who is director of communications for Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi, was there with her cameras as the organization wrestled how to respond after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg threw into doubt the precedent of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that established that the constitutional right to privacy invalidated state laws banning abortion.

What would become Standing Strong began as part of a virtual fundraiser, but as events overtook the organization, it evolved into a feature-length documentary of pain and protest. The film will make its world premiere tonight, July 26th, at Studio on the Square in Memphis. On August 1st, it will screen at Central Cinema in Knoxville, where the Planned Parenthood facility was burned to the ground in in January in an act of right-wing terrorism. It will screen at Nashville’s Belcourt Theater on August 4th. You can get tickets to the screenings at the film’s website, standing-strong.org.

Here’s the film’s trailer:

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Triggered

photo: © Mikephotos | Dreamstime.com Demonstration in Melbourne, Florida, after Roe v. Wade was overturned.

So, it’s likely you read about the 10-year-old rape victim who couldn’t get an abortion in Ohio. The story came to light shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24th. Ohio’s six-week “trigger ban” came into effect three days later and prohibited the child from getting an abortion in her home state. Her pediatrician called a colleague in nearby Indiana and arranged for the traumatized child-abuse victim to have an abortion there. (Indiana legislators have since indicated they will pass an abortion ban in an upcoming special session.)

The Ohio case has become something of a flash point for the abortion debate. A sampling of commentary on social media: 

“My heart absolutely BREAKS for that child but who are we to question what God is doing?” 

“God has a plan and a purpose for everything, and it’s not our place to try and take matters into our own hands no matter how badly the situation hurts.” 

“Every life is precious in His sight.” 

Others see it differently: 

“Why did God create the doctors and medicines that allow her to have a safe abortion?” 

“Why is God’s will behind the rape and Satan’s will behind the abortion?” 

“If everything is God’s will and she has an abortion, isn’t that abortion then also God’s will?”

And on it went and on it goes.

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves declared June to be “Sanctity of Life Month” in celebration of SCOTUS’ overturning of Roe v. Wade. Mississippi, it should be noted, has the highest infant and fetal mortality rates in the U.S. and the lowest life expectancy, so Reeves is totally on-brand with his pro-life bilge. 

And, to demonstrate that it’s not just Southerners who can utter evangelical garbage with a straight face, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem went on national television Sunday, mostly to fluff Donald Trump in hopes of enhancing her vice-presidential ambitions for 2024. But moderator Dana Bash had the poor taste to perform journalism and confront Noem with the case of the Ohio girl. It didn’t go well for Noem, who shuffled and deflected and avoided answering the question for several minutes. Which answered the question.  

Former Vice President Mike Pence came out of hiding long enough to speak the GOP’s fetal-attraction fever dream out loud, calling for a national ban on abortion, because God hates abortion — and also little girls, I guess.

Have any of these people ever actually known a 10-year-old girl? At 10, a little girl is in fourth or fifth grade. Fourth or fifth grade. Let it sink in. Think about a 10-year-old girl you know or have known — their innocence, their joy, their spirit. If they get pregnant, it is by definition because they were raped. It doesn’t matter if it was an uncle, a brother, a father, or a random evil stranger. An innocent child was the victim of a brutal, heinous crime. And now the law of the land in more than half of these dis-united states is (or soon will be) that that child deserves to be punished. 

The emphasis on child-rape and incest is helpful in illustrating the horrid absurdity of the SCOTUS ruling, but the most important thing to recognize is that the right to privacy and bodily autonomy for half the American population has been taken away. A 10th-grader, a mother of three with an ectopic pregnancy, a 40-year-old rape victim — all will be legally mandated to carry their pregnancy to term in much of the U.S. Their faith doesn’t matter — Jews, Muslims, Agnostics, Episcopalians, Methodists, Flying Spaghetti Monster worshippers. What matters is that American women are now required to adhere to a pseudo-religious tenet held by 13 percent of the country’s adults. A tiny minority has spent years working on packing the Supreme Court for the express purpose of overturning Roe v. Wade. They have succeeded. They have taken away an American woman’s right to decide what’s best for her body. 

It’s time to rage, folks. It’s time to get triggered and get organized and get loud. In a free country — in a real democracy — this cannot stand. 

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Politics Politics Feature

A New Third Rail

Nashville DA Glenn Funk (Photo: Courtesy Nashville Post)

Since the bombshell announcement last Friday of the Supreme Court decision invalidating the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling on abortion, numerous political figures — governors, senators, an abundance of political candidates, and smaller fry galore — have gotten themselves on the record either for or against the court’s dramatic reversal.

Few and far between are those politicians who have spoken in more qualified, measured terms, but among the most cautious have been the two candidates for Shelby County District Attorney — incumbent Republican DA Amy Weirich and her Democratic challenger Steve Mulroy.

Both had addressed the pending decision weeks ago, after a draft of the ruling-to-be, authored by Justice Samuel Alito, had been leaked to the media.

Weirich’s first utterance on the subject came early in June on the occasion of a ceremony in which she received the endorsements of the Memphis Police Association and the Shelby County Deputy Sheriff’s Association.

The full SCOTUS decision had not yet been formally announced, a fact which underscored Weirich’s reluctance when she was asked point-blank what would be her attitude toward enforcing Tennessee’s new anti-abortion act, a “trigger” law that would come into effect once Roe was dissolved.

“To answer that question, we have to assume a lot of hypotheticals,” Weirich said. “And I think any conversation about a law that hasn’t gone into place about a Supreme Court decision that may or may not be overturned … is hypothetical and, quite frankly, political grandstanding. To even discuss what our office would do, you would first have to assume that doctors in this community would break the law. And then you would have to assume that that criminal conduct was reported to law enforcement. There’s a lot of criminal conduct that doesn’t get reported about.

“And then you have to assume that an investigation is conducted and that there is enough information to make a charge against someone. Too many hypotheticals, too many hoops to jump through. And that’s not, that’s not the universe I live in. I don’t make conjecture statements about what I will remand or could or should do. We deal in facts, we deal in truth, and we deal in the evidence that’s before us.”

On Friday, Weirich updated those sentiments: “It is a dangerous path for a DA to make broad and hypothetical statements without an actual charge or case before them. To do so violates Tennessee Code Annotated 8-7-106, which requires a DA to consider the unique facts and circumstances of a particular case.”

The law referred to by Weirich is sometimes called “the Glenn Funk law,” after a Davidson County (Nashville) DA of progressive bent who has long made public his refusal to prosecute any and all cases dealing with anti-abortion statutes. Funk repeated his adamance in the wake of the Roe reversal.

Candidate Mulroy, asked weeks ago about his attitude toward enforcing the state trigger law, declined to make a Funk-like disavowal, noting that 8-7-106 allows the state Attorney General to appoint a special prosecutor for cases disdained by local district attorneys. Mulroy did say abortion-law violations would be a very low priority in his tenure.

On Friday, Mulroy said, “This is a sad day. The politicized right-wing Court goes out of its way to overturn half a century of precedent, with women as the victims. As District Attorney, I’ll be very different from Amy Weirich.

“Weirich’s party and Donald Trump want her to turn her attention away from prosecuting violent crime and prosecute women and their doctors. We need to be focusing on carjackings, murders, domestic violence — not jailing doctors helping women make reproductive choices.”

Mulroy also said Weirich, who “won’t say what she thinks about prosecuting reproductive choice,” was “one of the few Tennessee DAs who, under a now sunsetted law, prosecuted pregnant women for ‘fetal assault’ for showing up to hospitals to get substance abuse treatment.”

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Roe Reactions: Locals Respond to Historic Supreme Court Decision

Ripples from the U.S. Supreme Court’s Fridy decision to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision protecting a woman’s right to choose an abortion will spread for years, no doubt touching many lives. Here are some of the immediate reactions from Memphis and Tennessee groups following the announcement of the decision. 

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee:

“Today’s landmark Supreme Court decision marks the beginning of a hopeful, new chapter for our country. After years of heartfelt prayer and thoughtful policy, America has an historic opportunity to support women, children and strong families while reconciling the pain and loss caused by Roe v. Wade.

“We have spent years preparing for the possibility that authority would return to the states, and Tennessee’s laws will provide the maximum possible protection for both mother and child. In the coming days, we will address the full impacts of this decision for Tennessee.”

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery:

“Today, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. It overruled the Roe and Casey decisions establishing a federal constitutional right to have an abortion. Today’s decision restores to the states their authority to regulate and prohibit abortion.

“Tennesseans, through the affirmative vote of their elected representatives, amended the constitution a few years ago to confirm that the Tennessee Constitution does not provide a right to an abortion and leaves the issue up to the General Assembly. 

“As a result of today’s ruling:

• I will notify the Tennessee Code Commission in writing that Roe and Casey have been overruled, as required by statute. 

• We have asked the full Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to stay the district court’s injunction of the timing provisions in our heartbeat abortion law, so that the law will go into effect as soon as possible. 

• In 30 days, after the issuance of the judgment, the 2019 Human Life Protection Act should go into effect in Tennessee.

“To state the obvious: Dobbs is a momentous decision.  Our republic is founded on the rule of law.  Accordingly, we give respect and deference to the court on occasions when its decisions align and support our state laws, and in cases when a decision might be contrary to Tennessee state law and what the majority of Tennesseans want, as was the case with the 2015 Obergefell decision. 

“Most importantly, after nearly 50 years, today’s decision gives the people of Tennessee a say on what the court called ‘a profound moral issue.’”

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen:

“What has been a right for women for nearly 50 years has been struck down by this radical Supreme Court. Roe. v. Wade empowered women to make decisions about their health care and the most fundamental trajectory of their lives. That has been taken from them by an activist Supreme Court that has chosen to ignore the court’s precedents for a political agenda.

“Lucius Burch, a great Memphis lawyer, spoke to me many years ago about the possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned.  He said it would never happen because women in this country would march in the streets in protest. Mr. Burch was wrong about Roe never being overturned. But he was right about how women will react. Women in this country will march and march and march – and they will vote and vote and vote.”

Tennessee GOP: 

”For half a century, Roe vs. Wade has been the law of our land and we applaud the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision to reverse course and allow the states to determine questions of life. 

“We are proud that our work in Tennessee by electing good, pro-life Republicans has produced a long legacy of leadership that values the culture of life. 

“However we know the fight for life does not end today, it merely shifts the debate from Washington to all the state houses across the country and serves as a reminder that our struggle is not complete. The prayers of millions and the actions of many were answered today as we all rejoice in the gift of life on this day.”

Tennessee Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Jason Martin:

“For nearly 50 years, Roe v. Wade has been the law of the land — protecting the right to choose and reproductive health. Today, on this horrific day, that has come to end. In Tennessee, all abortions will be effectively illegal in 30 days and it will have the greatest impact on our most vulnerable communities. 

”Make no mistake, abortions will still occur, but they will no longer be safe. Some will say that people can travel to other states, but not only does that further burden women without resources in an already difficult time, but it also fails to acknowledge that our rights are limited by an extremist Supreme Court and state legislature. As a physician, I also worry about how this impacts how we treat women in the hospital — how can I give someone the best medical care possible when medical decisions are no longer just between a woman and her doctor? Tennessee’s trigger law will be detrimental to the health and safety of all Tennesseans, and we cannot let that stand.

It has been clear for some time now that winning Tennessee’s gubernatorial race is a fight to protect women’s rights, freedoms, and safety. What happened this morning just shows us how urgently we need to act, and how much we need to come together to defeat this trigger law, Bill Lee, and the radical super majority in November.”

Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn: 

”Having worked alongside Tennesseans to protect the innocent lives of unborn children for years, I applaud today’s Supreme Court ruling. 

“Despite false claims from the left, this decision will not ban abortion. Instead, it returns the decision to the states and empowers state legislatures with more flexibility to craft policy through the democratic process. 

“It is unacceptable that a draft opinion was leaked in advance and that the person responsible has not been caught. The leaker has jeopardized the safety of our justices, and threats of violence by the radical militant mob are unacceptable. We appreciate the brave law enforcement officers working overtime to protect our justices and their families.”

Healthy and Free Tennessee, a reproductive rights advocacy group:

”At Healthy and Free Tennessee, we have been preparing for this reality and will continue to center abolition in the fight for reproductive justice for all Tennesseans. We are not giving up on our communities and will not stop fighting for the decriminalization of abortion, pregnancy, and parenting. 

“Now more than ever, we are backing our clinics, we are fighting against criminalization, and are here for our communities. Tennesseeans deserve freedom from state violence and criminalization. We will always oppose laws that punish people for pregnancy outcomes and will always work to provide accurate resources and information, fight for increased resources for pregnant people and families, and advocate for the rights of pregnant people. We deserve the dignity to make decisions about our own pregnancies, families, and futures.”

Tennessee House Minority Leader Rep. Karen Camper:

“I have often said that abortion is a complicated and very personal decision. And I personally believe that we don’t spend enough time on finding solutions to the reasons why some people have to have abortions.

“However, this ruling means that in Tennessee, all abortions will be criminalized, including for victims of rape and incest. Women should have the right to make their own, personal healthcare decisions.  This is an unfortunate decision based on politics instead of established law and, according to the vast majority of polls, the will of people.”   

Hendrell Remus, chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party:

“This decision is a direct assault on the rights of Tennesseeans. The court’s interpretation of the constitution on this issue is flawed and a direct insertion of political activism on the highest court in the land.

“This decision made by a conservative majority on the court, will empower a radical majority serving in state legislatures across the country. Politicians will be even more emboldened by this decision to impose their most restrictive views on us. Today, an essential and lifesaving freedom was discarded by a court installed to protect it.”

Brit Bender, executive director Tennessee Democratic Party:

“Clearly, this is a blow to Americans everywhere, but in Tennessee, abortion is most at risk due to a trigger law that will outlaw abortion without the federal right. This trigger law now criminalizes any abortion unless necessary to prevent death or ‘serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function.’ The abortion ban puts millions of Tennesseeans in danger and takes away their bodily autonomy.

“We are going to keep pushing back against anti-choice representatives and legislation any chance we get. The Tennessee Democratic Party will work to support pro-choice candidates and legislators as well as abortion rights groups in state. We’re prepared to fight for the safety and autonomy of Tennesseeans.”

Tennessee state Senator Raumesh Akbari:

“The Supreme Court just reset the clock on women’s constitutional rights to 1972. This decision puts the lives of women in imminent danger by handing politicians control over our most personal healthcare decisions. This is a stunning reversal of a decades-long expansion of our personal privacy rights and it’s disgraceful because it will not affect every American equally. Men’s reproductive liberties are completely untouched and protected.

“In Tennessee, abortion is already a right in name only for many people but even here the consequences for women will be swift and severe. Soon, a law from 2019 will make it a felony to provide an abortion in our state. As a direct result, the few abortion providers we have left will be criminalized and women and girls will be forced to carry pregnancies to term, even when they are a victim of rape or incest.

“Those with economic means, access to transportation, and friends who can help them get around legal roadblocks will still be able to exercise some control over their own bodies. But poor women and many Black women, women who already feel the sting of inequity in our laws and economy, will feel the repercussions of this decision right away.

“In this country, our sisters and daughters should have the same rights that our brothers and sons have, which is exactly why women should be trusted to start a family when they’re ready — without interference from politicians. Instead, we are going backward and the extreme politicians who brought us to this point are ready to shred our rights even further.”

Tennessee House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. Vincent Dixie (D-Nashville):

“This a sad day for this country. The Supreme Court was once the place that Americans could turn to for justice. The women’s movement, the civil rights movement, the disabled community and the LGBTQ community all turned to the high court to have their basic human rights affirmed. However today, politics overruled justice.

“Today, the black robes of the Supreme Court turned red and politics ruled the day. Now, we have to fight back and the best place to do that is at the ballot box. We have fewer than a dozen days now to register to vote in Tennessee and I urge everyone to let their voices be heard in this year’s upcoming election.”

Steve Mulroy, Democratic nominee for Shelby County District Attorney:

“This is a sad day. The politicized right-wing court goes out of its way to overturn half a century of precedent, with women as the victims.

“As District Attorney, I’ll be very different from Amy Weirich. Weirich’s party and Donald Trump want her to turn her attention away from prosecuting violent crime and prosecute women and their doctors. We need to be focusing on carjackings, murders, domestic violence – not jailing doctors helping women make reproductive choices.”