“The purpose of this legislation is to recognize and codify that women and girls deserve all available facts and information in order to make a careful and fully informed decision and to provide them the time that is necessary to make that decision.”
By Brian Harris, President, Tennessee Right to Life
Editor’s note. This alert was sent out today by Tennessee Right to Life, NRLC’s state affiliate.
Long sought provisions to restore informed consent, a 48-hour waiting period, and to require licensure and inspection of abortion facilities passed final committee votes this week. On Tuesday, members of the Senate Judiciary committee approved both the licensure bill (SB 1280) by Senator Joey Hensley and the informed consent and waiting period bill (SB 1222) by Senator Mae Beavers. Both bills were passed by a 7-2 vote of the committee.
On Wednesday, following a nearly 2 hour debate in which operators of 4 Tennessee abortion facilities spoke in opposition, pro-life members of the House Health Committee passed the informed consent and waiting period (HB 0977) sponsored by Rep. Matthew Hill and Rep. Debra Moody.
“..This legislation is specifically a response to the approval by a majority of voters of Amendment 1,” said Hill. “Amendment 1 was presented to the voters of Tennessee and to the citizens, and they were told clearly time and time again that if Amendment 1 was adopted that informed consent, 48-hour waiting period, and the inspection of facilities would be what the Legislature brought forth. That’s why this legislation specifically deals with two of the three things that were specifically delineated during the campaign of Amendment 1.”
Both pro-life bills will now be scheduled for floor votes in the state Senate and state House.
Tennessee Right to Life expresses profound gratitude to each sponsor and to those committee members voting in support of these common-sense protections. We will share the schedule for House and Senate floor votes once they have been set. We invite pro-life Tennesseans to come and show our support for these policies and those legislators working hard for passage.