Abortion waiting period likely with Amendment 1 passage
A day after Tennessee voters approved Amendment 1, a measure giving lawmakers more power to restrict abortions, a clear picture emerged of three new abortion measures that are likely to pass in its wake — while abortion rights supporters warned that an "avalanche" of draconian proposals will soon follow.
Republican Beth Harwell, speaker of the Tennessee House, said Wednesday she is backing a trio of abortion bills that include:
• A mandatory waiting period before a woman seeking an abortion can obtain one.
• Inspection requirements for all facilities where abortions are performed.
• Mandatory counseling — or "informed consent" — be provided to a woman before an abortion.
"I think the general population has spoken," Harwell said. "The citizens have said they want us to examine our abortion laws and see what appropriate action needs to be taken, and I believe the legislature will look for some common sense regulations that ensure that abortion is a safe procedure in our state."
Approved Tuesday by 54 percent of the state's voters, Tennessee's abortion measure removes the right to an abortion from the state's constitution, giving lawmakers more leeway in crafting what backers called "common sense" abortion laws when they return to session in January.
But lawmakers in favor of abortion rights say its passage gives a green light to the Tennessee General Assembly's GOP supermajority to enact a whole host of extreme laws restricting abortion rights — legislation that will be difficult to beat.
"It allows the Tennessee General Assembly to do anything they want with a woman's right to make her own choices and live her own life," said Rep. Sherry Jones, one of just 26 Democrats in the state's 99-member Republican-dominated House.
"And anything the Republican Party brings up to change the way women make their healthcare decisions will pass," she said. "Republicans are in the majority, and they can pass anything they want to. I'm afraid we are going back to the days when women are desperate and have no place to go."
Any laws that are ultimately enacted will have an impact beyond Tennessee's borders. One in four abortions in Tennessee is obtained by a woman traveling from out of state. Other Southern states have passed abortion restrictions, leading to clinic closures in some cases, or greater hurdles for women seeking abortions. Abortion opponents campaigned for the measure saying Tennessee should not be known as an "abortion destination."
One backer of Tennessee's new measure said he believes Tennessee lawmakers will now have the ability to pass laws that deter out-of-state women from coming to Tennessee for the procedure.
"If we have an informed consent law and a waiting period, the incentive for women to leave their home state to come to Tennessee will be reduced," said David Fowler, president of Family Action Council of Tennessee and a former state senator who originally proposed the constitutional amendment in 2001.
"Tennessee in my opinion took the notion of abortion on demand to a new level, saying you can show up in the morning, have an abortion and leave that afternoon," he said. "When the state has a waiting period law, I think you will see fewer who will find it expedient to travel to Tennessee."
Memphis abortion clinic director Rebecca Terrell said measures such as waiting periods will simply make it more difficult and expensive for women to access needed services.
"A waiting period may seem like a good idea," said Terrell, executive director of Choices, the Memphis Center for Reproductive Health. "But if a woman has to take two days off work to go back to a clinic, or pay for childcare or travel five hours twice, she may not get the care she needs, and, of course, that's the intent."
But Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey said the measure simply puts Tennessee in line with other states.
"Opponents can scream that passage means that the sky is falling all they want," Ramsey said. "The years ahead will prove this amendment merely brought our state into line with other states across the nation that value the health and safety of women over unrestricted abortion on demand. Nothing more."
Reach Anita Wadhwani at 615-259-8092 or on Twitter @AnitaWadhwani.
Abortion laws across the nation
• 24 states require waiting periods before a woman can obtain an abortion
• 35 states require that women receive counseling before an abortion is performed
• 23 states require facilities where abortion services are provided to meet standards intended for ambulatory surgical centers
Source: Guttmacher Institute
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