House Passes Abortion Exception Bill

The Tennessee House passed a law that would add exemptions to Tennessee’s law banning abortions. The bill passed in the house on Monday would add exemptions for terminating ectopic or molar pregnancies which can cause major internal bleeding and that in a doctor’s “reasonable medical judgment” the abortion is necessary to prevent the death of or serious injury to the mother. Under current law, it is a felony for a doctor to provide an abortion and there are no exceptions for rape, incest, or the mother’s health. It only includes what’s called “affirmative defense” that puts the burden on the doctor to prove in court that an abortion was necessary to prevent serious injury or death to the mother. So, under current law a doctor can still be charged with a felony even if the abortion was to save the mother’s life. The bill passed the house by a vote of 83-11…representative Jeremy Faison was among the 83 who voted to pass the bill. That bill still has to pass through the senate before it can head to the governor’s desk for his signature.