Tennessee passes strict new 20-week abortion ban

[Judi Lynn]

Source: The Hill


BY REID WILSON - 05/04/17 02:01 PM EDT

Tennessee legislators have given final approval to a measure that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and create additional barriers even if the life of the mother were at stake.

The legislation, passed on a party-line vote in the Republican-controlled House and Senate this week, would require a doctor to evaluate whether a fetus is viable after 20 weeks of pregnancy. State law would presume that a fetus would be viable after 24 weeks of gestation.

A doctor could perform an abortion after 20 weeks if the woman’s life or health is at risk. But any doctor who decides a woman’s health is at risk would be required to get a second opinion from another doctor with whom they do not have a professional relationship.

Groups that oppose abortion rights hailed the legislation as a milestone.“Together we will help ensure that the strongest possible law saves the largest number of women, girls and unborn children from the horror of an elective abortion when the child could otherwise survive,” said Brian Harris, who heads Tennessee Right to Life.



Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/331952-tennessee-passes-strict-new-20-week-abortion-ban

[Docreed2003]

1. Ugh....disgusting...

My home state, despite its growth throughout the state, seems to be firmly in the hands of the evangelicals and the Southern Baptists. It's infuriating and sad!

[area51]

2. Looks pretty pointless,

according to this.

[progree]

7. Their excuse is that supposedly the fetus feels pain beginning at 20 weeks

Three other states have passed 20-week laws in just the last 5 weeks, per the article -- Ohio, Kentucky, and Iowa.

[pnwmom]

3. And how does this work in most smaller and medium cities, where all the doctors have professional

relationships?

I fully support Roe v. Wade, but anyone who thinks that this alternative is reasonable needs to understand -- it isn't. Babies at 24 weeks aren't viable, except in the rarest cases, and nobody should be making these decisions except for the parents.

[mdbl]

4. let's save the fetus and kill the mother

what a bunch of loons

[J_William_Ryan]

5. Such is the authoritarian right

Yet another example of how conservatives want more government, bigger government, at the expense of individual liberty.

[ehrnst]

6. Make her jump through hoops that the medical profession says are harmful.

Fuck science, fuck actual knowledge.

Women's lives are political cards for men to deal away.

[Thor_MN]

8. "with whom they do not have a professional relationship. "

How about passing the same rule for corporate boards, so they don't all decide each other's salaries?

[Grins]

9. Let her die!!!

It's what they want. It's what they demand. And they said so. OUT LOUD. AND IN PUBLIC:

[niyad]

10. and the war on women continues at a breathtaking pace