Tennessee’s 48-hour waiting period for abortions is now an unquestioned law, said the Tennessee Attorney General, as “the legal battle is over.”
Tennessee AG Herbert Slatery said Friday the window of opportunity for a review of the law by the U.S. Supreme Court has closed. The 48-hour waiting period for an abortion “is no longer subject to question,” he said.
The law passed the Tennessee General Assembly in 2015. Later, a district court agreed with abortion providers that the law violated a woman’s right to have an abortion. The ruling stopped officials here from enforcing the law.
State officials appealed the ruling to the full sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. That court reversed the lower-court judgment saying the law “is not a substantial obstacle to abortion for a large fraction of women seeking pre-viability abortions in Tennessee.”
“This law was on the books for five years before the district court enjoined it,” Slatery said in a statement. “The Sixth Circuit took the unusual step of having the full court review the district court decision and that of its own panel.
“We are grateful that the court recognized the validity of a law passed by the people’s representatives and did not substitute its own judgment for the policy decision made by the legislature and the governor.”
