Fix what's wrong with Tennessee's broken abortion law before throwing people in prison

When 53% of Tennessee voters agreed to remove state constitutional protections for abortion, they were not asked if they wanted to criminalize the delivery of healthcare, difficult pregnancies or the desperation of a pregnant minor to obtain reproductive care.

But since that referendum in 2014, the majority of Tennessee legislators with the consent of two governors have created an environment that has become dangerous for women and has deterred medical professionals from practicing in the Volunteer State.

State abortion laws have created challenges for Tennessee medical schools training obstetrician-gynecologists who are required to train in reproductive care.

The state’s trigger law creating a near total ban on abortion was approved in 2019 and went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade’s federal abortion protections in 2022.

The trigger law was a whole kitchen sink approached that criminally punished doctors who performed abortion unless they proved an “affirmative defense” and made it illegal for women to get appropriate reproductive health care for ectopic and molar pregnancies and other complications.

In 2023, lawmakers had to correct those portions of the law and, thus, doctors are no longer considered effectively guilty before proving their innocence.

But citizens are suing the state because of the law and the harms it has caused or will cause.

Counterpoint: Don't amend Human Life Protection Act with additional exceptions

New legislation would criminalize adults who aid pregnant minors

This year, Knoxville Republican Rep. Jason Zachary wants to go further and charge adults with a felony if they transport minors to another state for an abortion or provide them with abortion medication, deeming it akin to trafficking.

There are exemptions for parents and guardians, but they could sue the adults who are charged under the proposal.

In a video he posted on Twitter on Jan. 23, Zachary explained that his House Bill 1895 focused on “unemancipated” minors.

He said the legislation was motivated by one case he was aware of, but he offered no specifics. It’s difficult to know whether this is just an aberration that could have been addressed by existing law.

The fact is that a health crisis requires a health care solution not a criminal justice fix.

Lawmakers should talk about the root causes of teen pregnancy – as well as the possibility that rape, abuse and/or incest may be at play – and create options to provide care for them rather than forcing minors to give birth without being mentally, physically or emotionally prepared to handle the responsibility.

Pregnant women and their families are suffering because of Tennessee’s law

A tragic consequence of Tennessee’s abortion law led to reports about pregnant women with complications waiting for hours while doctors begged for the legal go-ahead to operate and avoid potential prison time.

Imagine your life hanging in the balance while a lawyer decides your fate when you are writhing in pain.

Allyson "Allie" Phillips, a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the state, wrote a guest opinion column in The Tennessean last September about how she chose to leave the state to get an abortion. She was pregnant with her daughter Miley Rose when she learned that her child’s organs were not developing and had no chance to live.

“Because of Tennessee’s cruel ban on abortion, an essential medical procedure, I could not legally get an abortion in my home state. I would have to travel out of state, and my doctor told me that Tennessee law prevented her from offering me any resources in that effort,” she wrote.

The years of shaming women, threatening clinics and verbal and physical violence — such as the arson that destroyed the Planned Parenthood clinic in Knoxville on New Year’s Eve 2021 — have created a perilous environment that is harmful for the safety and well-being of Tennesseans.

Zachary may be sincere in his desire to push this bill, but it simply makes things worse.

Instead, the Tennessee General Assembly should give consideration to the effort by Sen. Richard Briggs, also a Republican of Knoxville and a medical doctor, to expand exceptions to the abortion law and create more clarity for patients and doctors.

Tennessee should make health care solutions a priority over putting people in prison.

David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee. He is an editorial board member of The Tennessean. He hosts the Tennessee Voices videocast and curates the Tennessee Voices and Latino Tennessee Voices newsletters. Call him at (615) 259-8063, email him at dplazas@tennessean.com or tweet to him at @davidplazas.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Before throwing adults in prison, fix Tennessee's broken abortion law