Some Senate Republicans Do Not Support Legislation To Ban Abortions In Tennessee (Update 4.1.22)

***Update 4/1/22 – HB2779 was rolled to 4/6/22 in the House Health Committee. SB2582 was rolled to 3/30/22 in the Senate Judiciary Committee but no info is yet available on what took place.

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The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –

A bill that would ban abortions in the state of Tennessee is on the calendar for the full House Health Committee on April 6th, with the Senate version heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 29th, but no information is available at the time of publication for the meeting’s events.

However, some Republicans in the Tennessee Senate have voiced a lack of support for the legislation.

Lt. Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge-District 5), who presides over the Tennessee Senate, states that he will not offer his support for the legislation citing a presumed conflict with the state’s “heartbeat” abortion law that is currently the subject of a case in federal court.

McNally states that HB2779 / SB2582 would make the matters for Tennessee’s current abortion law more complicated.

Representative Rebecca Alexander (R-Jonesborough-District 7),  first introduced House Bill 2779 as a caption bill that was later amended to state that it would ban all abortions except those that would prevent death or “substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function” of the mother.

Alexander says that the bill was modeled after similar legislation that was passed in Texas. The passing of that legislation resulted in around a 60% decrease in the number of abortions performed in the state.

The bill would also allow any individual to sue those who help women to obtain abortions. This not only includes physicians who perform abortions, but also includes anyone who “aids and abets” abortions by paying for or reimbursing someone else for paying for an abortion. If it is passed, individuals could be sued for up to $10,000.

The bill does not allow for exceptions to the ban in cases of rape or incest, but it does prohibit “a person who impregnated a woman seeking an abortion through an act of rape, sexual assault, or incest” from bringing a civil suit against the abortion provider.

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Senator Ken Yager, (R-Kingston-District 12), stated that giving individuals a cause of action by allowing the pursuit of civil penalties for procedures unrelated to them personally could capsize the current tort of law.

McNally states that he has spoken with Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon-District 17), sponsor of the Senate version of the bill,  about his concerns stating that he hopes the legislation does not advance in the Senate.

On the House side, Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland-District 44) has stated that he does support the notion of the legislation and that he does not share McNally’s concerns about conflicts with current Tennessee law.

NewTruth

If you wish to have your voice heard by the lawmakers about this pending legislation, contact them in advance of their meeting on April 6th.  The contact information for the Republican members (who hold the super-majority vote) can be found below.  

House Health Committee

Chairman Bryan Terry – rep.bryan.terry@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2180

Vice-Chair Tom Leatherwood – rep.tom.leatherwood@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7084

Rebecca Alexander – rep.rebecca.alexander@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2251

Clark Boyd – rep.clark.boyd@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7086

David Byrd – rep.david.byrd@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2190

Ron Gant – rep.ron.gant@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6890

Mark Hall – rep.mark.hall@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1350

Esther Helton – rep.esther.helton@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1934

Tim Hicks – rep.tim.hicks@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1717

Sabi Kumar – rep.sabi.kumar@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2860

Pat Marsh – rep.pat.marsh@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6824

Bob Ramsey – rep.bob.ramsey@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3560

Paul Sherrell – rep.paul.sherrell@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1963

Kevin Vaughan – rep.kevin.vaughan@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1866

Sam Whitson – rep.sam.whitson@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1864

Ryan Williams – rep.ryan.williams@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1875

Senate Judiciary Committee

Mike Bell (Chair) – sen.mike.bell@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1946

Dawn White (1st Vice-Chair) – sen.dawn.white@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6853

Paul Rose (2nd Vice-Chair) – sen.paul.rose@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1967

Todd Gardenhire – sen.todd.gardenhire@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6682

Jon Lundberg – sen.jon.lundberg@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-5761

Kerry Roberts – sen.kerry.roberts@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4499

John Stevens – sen.john.stevens@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4576

About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative  ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career.  Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others.  He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History.  Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com

2 thoughts on “Some Senate Republicans Do Not Support Legislation To Ban Abortions In Tennessee (Update 4.1.22)

  • March 21, 2022 at 11:08 pm
    Permalink

    These Republican’s need to be voted out in November for supporting abortion/ Murder of the unborn.

    Reply
    • March 28, 2022 at 10:45 pm
      Permalink

      I’ll Vote for that. We have enough turn coat Democrat’s without Republican’s helping?

      Reply

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