Madison Burgess
Republican Tennessee lawmakers have proposed a bill that could 'allow the death penalty' for women who have abortions.
The extremely controversial bill would classify abortion as fetal homicide, as well as remove the current legal protections for pregnant women. If passed into law, it would become the strongest anti-abortion legislation in state history.
House Bill 570 and Senate Bill 738 have been introduced by Tennessee State Representative Jody Barrett and Tennessee State Senator Mark Pody.
Their legislation says that 'innocent human life, created in the image of God, should be equally protected under the laws from fertilization to natural death'.
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It demands that 'unborn babies are protected with the same criminal and civil laws protecting the lives of born persons by repealing provisions that permit prenatal homicide and assault'.
Shockingly, this means that women who get an abortion in the state of Tennessee would be charged with fetal homicide, which is punishable by life imprisonment, life without parole, or, in some cases, the death penalty, as reported by The Tennessean.
The amendment has been referred to the House Population Health Subcommittee, but has not yet been voted on. If passed, the bill would take effect 1 July, however, retroactive prosecutions of women would not be allowed.
Specifically, the new legislation would remove the legal protections for pregnant women that are currently in statute, and essentially classify harm done to an unborn child as equal to a person 'born alive'.
According to the publication, women who experience a 'spontaneous miscarriage' would be exempt, as would those who go through the 'unintentional death of an unborn child' after 'undertaking life-saving procedures'.
However, representative Barrett, who's sponsoring the bill, has pushed back on the notion that the new law would expose women to the death penalty.
Nashville News Channel 5 reports that the politician said the amendment does not specifically mention the death penalty.
However, reproductive rights groups have warned that the law could open the door to this happening.
Tennessee already has one of America's strictest abortion bans through the Human Life Protection Act, which almost completely prohibits abortion, with only limited medical exceptions.
Following a 2022 trigger ban after the US Supreme Court’s overturning of 'Roe v. Wade,' the state prohibits abortions at all stages of pregnancy and criminalizes violations of these prohibitions.
The state's law criminalises the provision of abortions after the point of viability by medical providers, unless necessary to protect the pregnant person’s life or health, as explained by the Centre for Reproductive Rights.
To have an abortion, you must be at risk of 'serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function' or 'inevitable abortion'.
In May 2024, Tennessee also enacted a law that makes it illegal to assist minors seeking out-of-state abortion.
If the new bill were to come into law, it would only tighten the already controversial restrictions on the state.
In the UK, for help, support and advice about abortion, contact the British Pregnancy Advisory Service on 03457 30 40 30, 7am to 6pm Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm on Saturdays, and 9.30am to 2.30pm on Sundays.
In the US, for help, support and advice about abortion, contact the National Abortion Hotline on 1-800-772-9100, 8am-7pm ET Monday to Friday or 8am-4pm ET Saturday to Sunday.