Image Credit: State Senator Richard Briggs / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –
Sen. Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville-District 7) has announced new legislation called the “Freedom to Have Children and a Family Act,” which would weaken Tennessee’s current abortion law under the guise that women cannot be properly treated by their doctors under current law.
When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade in June of 2022 Tennessee’s trigger law went into effect, banning abortions across the state.
Tennessee’s 2023 legislative session was the first opportunity for lawmakers to propose legislation and further clarify what abortion law was going to look like on the state level.
At the time Sen. Briggs was one of several Republican lawmakers touting a bill to weaken the state’s abortion ban.
This proposed legislation was “poorly written” according to Will Brewer, the Legal Counsel and Director of Government Relations for Tennessee Right to Life.
Brewer explained that the bill created “an exception so broad that any doctor can come up with a reason to terminate a pregnancy” so long as they claim it is to save the life of the mother or to treat/prevent a medical emergency from occurring.
Due to the work of pro-life advocates the bill’s language was shifted and Tennessee Right to Life endorsed the amended bill, SB0745/HB0883.
It passed in the state legislature, becoming law on April 28th, 2023.
Prior to the passage of SB0745/HB0883, it was already not a criminal offense in Tennessee to “terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant with intent to increase the probability of a live birth, to preserve the life or health of the child after live birth, or to remove a dead fetus.”
SB0745/HB0883 as amended, further clarified that “termination of a pregnancy with the intent to terminate an ectopic or molar pregnancy” does not constitute a criminal abortion.
It also clarified that it is not an offense for a physician to perform an abortion if that physician is properly licensed, attempts to perform the abortion “in a manner which provides the best opportunity for the unborn child to survive,” and that physician determines in “good faith medical judgement” that the abortion was necessary to prevent the death or “irreversible impairment of major bodily function” of the pregnant woman.
However, it seems these exemptions are not enough for Sen. Briggs.
“What we’re looking at this year is to take some of those medical conditions, where either the child cannot survive outside the womb or it’s a condition where if the woman is not treated properly, that she could end up unable to have children,” Sen. Briggs told News Channel 2.
“Unfortunately, […] the state legislature has a law that would cause women to be sterile and unable to bear children, even if they wanted to have children. They would have to leave the state in order to be treated,” Sen. Briggs claimed.
What particular medical conditions he is referencing, and what state law prevents women from receiving proper care for those medical conditions in Tennessee remains unclear.
Sen. Briggs has not filed his new abortion bill yet, but it will likely aim to expand current exemptions and resemble what was initially proposed in 2023.
About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee. You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
