The Tennessee House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat.
According to The Tennessean, the 99-member House voted 65-21 despite early confusion among Republicans regarding amendments and criticism from Democrats.
“Colleagues, we cannot continue to allow the slaughter of the unborn while we hope for better circumstances,” bill sponsor Micah Van Huss, R-Jonesborough, said from the House floor.
Currently, the Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) prohibits abortion after viability, with the only exception being to preserve the life of the mother, according to Tennessee Right to Life. A medical assessment is required at the 20th week of pregnancy to determine viability, which is the point during pregnancy in which the baby can be born and have a reasonable chance of surviving.
The bill, which still has to advance through the Senate, is receiving opposition from Tennessee Right to Life. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and Northern Mississippi plan on filing lawsuits if the bill becomes law, per The Tennessean.
The bill was received by the Senate and was passed on first consideration on March 11, and has yet to be referred to the Senate Calendar and Rules committee.
Abortion is a heavy, nuanced topic. However, when it comes to abortion, I think that there are better alternatives than ending the life of the fetus.
Adoption should be the go-to alternative when the mother or both parents do not want to or cannot properly care for the child. It’s a sad thing for the child to go through, but at least they’ll have a chance to live and contribute to society.
Adoption does have issues. Children will lack the intimacy of living with their parents and might suffer from stunted personal growth. Children might also feel a sense of rejection their entire lives.
Adoption should not be an excuse for people to be irresponsible and have kids without being prepared.
But let’s face it: having a chance at life is better than being killed before life ever begins.
Parenting is a huge part of childhood development, but who’s to say that that’s virtually nonexistent in the adoption system? You don’t have to be a biological parent to be a positive influence on a child’s life.
With that being said, it’s easy to see that I am not a fan of abortion, especially when people are irresponsible in their sex lives and produce children they can’t care for.
Making abortion illegal after the detection of a heartbeat seems like a common sense thing to do.
This bill would, of course, make abortions much harder to get in Tennessee; so much so that it might make the procedure nearly impossible to have legally in the state.
Concerns about unsafe, illegal abortions have been brought up in response to the bill, with critics saying that illegal abortions would increase as a result.
The rates of illegal abortions would more than likely spike if this bill passes through the Senate. As unfortunate as this is, there are ways to lower these numbers if other alternatives to abortion are made readily available, i.e. adoption. My main gripe with the bill is this particular reason.
Though I have some concerns about the repercussions of the bill, I doubt that it will make it through the Tennessee Senate unscathed. I’d say the biggest legal obstacle facing the bill is whether or not it can exist with Roe v. Wade, which ruled that outright bans on abortions are unconstitutional.
Well said!! Great job 👍