Tennessee Legislators Continue Discussion Of Additional Abortion Laws
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Two bills, first introduced by Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon-District 17), dealing with state abortion laws, are being debated in the Tennessee Legislature this session.
Senate Bill 0494 (SB0494), would grant fathers the right to ask the courts to deny a woman’s option to have an abortion.
SB0494, as introduced, would permit a person to petition a court for an injunction to prohibit a woman who is pregnant with the person’s unborn child from obtaining an abortion; requires the petitioner to execute a voluntary acknowledgement of paternity that is not subject to being rescinded or challenged. -The Act would amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 24; Title 29; Title 36; Title 39 and Title 68, Chapter 3, relative to abortion.
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Pody says he created the bill in an effort for all fathers to have input into decisions about their unborn children.
“I believe a father should have a right to say what’s gonna be happening to that child,” Pody stated when the bill was initially put forth. “And if somebody is going to kill that child, he should be able to say, ‘No, I don’t want that child to be killed. I want to be able to raise that child and love that child.’”
The House companion bill (HB1079) is sponsored by Representative Jerry Sexton (R-Bean Station-District 35).
The Senate bill was on the calendar for the Senate Judiciary Committee for February 15th, but action has been deferred until March 8. The bill was first introduced on February 8th, 2021.
The House bill was on the calendar for the Children & Family Affairs subcommittee for April 7th, 2021 but was taken off the calendar on that day and has not shown any forward progression since.
Senate Bill 0204 (SB0204) focuses on the qualifications of those who perform abortions and how far along a woman is in that pregnancy.
The bill “prohibits a person from intentionally performing or inducing an abortion on a pregnant woman if the physician determines, in the physician’s good faith medical judgement, that the unborn human individual the pregnant woman is carrying has a detectable heartbeat, or there is an otherwise viable pregnancy, determined according to standard medical practice.”
The House companion bill (HB0724) is sponsored by Representative Dan Howell (R-Cleveland-District 22).
The Senate bill was also on the calendar for the Senate Judiciary Committee for February 15th, but the committee reassigned it to the General Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill was first introduced on January 15th, 2021.
The House bill was last assigned to the Health subcommittee for February 20th, 2021 and has not shown any forward progression since.
It appears that both bills will need to be passed by the Senate before any new action is taken on the House side with the expectation that the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on both in the near future.
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 Directory 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
Why is this being discussed? TN, should be a NON ABORTION STATE PERIOD!!!!!!!!! This is supposed to be the bible belt. This is supposed to be full of Christians so why is there abortions in our state anyway???
What part of life is sacred don’t this legislators understand.
Do people remember AMENDMENT 1, that many Churches in Tennessee had rallies that We, the People, through REFERENDUM wanted to STOP this Abortion debate and funding in Tennessee???
This REFEREDUM from We, the People passed. It is now Section 36, Declaration of Rights (inviolate) Why is there any further “debate”???? STAND on this REFEREDUM from We, The People and just say NO. Here it is verbatim, “Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion. The People retain the right through their elected State representatives and State Senators to enact, amend, or REPEAL statutes regarding abortion, including but not limited to, circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the Mother.”
We don’t need to go to court, we need to stand on this Right that we secured through REFEREDUM. This is a “SETTLED ISSUE” in the State of Tennessee.
For God & Country
The wording of Amendment 1 is non-binding. It simply says there is no right to abortion, but it doesn’t prohibit abortions or say what the consequences are if an abortion is done. The Amendment is vague and the legislature has left it that way. Since abortion was not specifically prohibited, access to abortion is still not illegal. And the legislature has not done anything to make it illegal, only somewhat harder to get. The heartbeat bill is a way of making it harder but still does not prohibit it. As long as it is not specifically prohibited, the abortion industry will find ways to circumvent any such laws.
Mr. Roark, did you read the verbatim that was adopted as Section 36, Declaration of Rights, I think that is very clear. The Declaration of Rights is INVIOLATE. That settles the question. No more debate, no more going court, No Funding, No right to an abortion. End of subject. For God & Country