Overview of the legality and prevalence of abortions in the U.S. state of Tennessee
Abortion in Tennessee is illegal from fertilization, except to "prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman".[1]
The ban took effect on August 25, 2022, thirty days after the Tennessee Attorney General notified the Tennessee Code Commission that Roe v. Wade was overturned on June 24, 2022.[2][3][4][5] Following the Dobbs decision, it became the only state with no direct exception in case of risk to the mother's life; rather, there was an affirmative defense included in the ban, meaning that someone who performed an abortion could be charged with a felony, but only had an opportunity to prove that the procedure was necessary — either to prevent the patient from dying or to prevent serious risk of what the law calls "substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function."[6]
The number of abortion clinics in Tennessee decreased over the years, with 128 in 1982, 33 in 1992, and 7 in 2014. There were 12,373 legal abortions in 2014, and 11,411 in 2015.
History
Legislative history
The state was one of 10 states in 2007 to have a customary informed consent provision for abortions.[7] In 2013, state Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) had provisions related to admitting privileges and licensing. They required clinics have hospital privileges and transfer agreement with a hospital.[8]
In 2015 Tennessee established a required 48 hour waiting period before obtaining an abortion.[9]
The state legislature was one of eight states nationwide that tried, and failed, to pass a bill to ban early abortion in 2017.[10] They tried again in 2018, where they were one of ten states that tried and failed to pass a fetal heartbeat bill.[10] Two fetal heartbeat bills were filed in the Tennessee General Assembly in 2019. On January 23, 2019, Rep. James "Micah" Van Huss filed HB 77 in the Tennessee House of Representatives.[11] On February 7, 2019, Sen. Mark Pody filed SB 1236 in the Tennessee Senate.[12] On February 20, 2019, HB 77 was passed out of a Public Health subcommittee and sent to the full committee.[13] On February 26, 2019, the House Public Health Committee voted 15–4 to send HB 77 to the House floor for a full vote.[14][15] On February 7, 2019, HB 77 was passed out of the Tennessee House by a vote of 66–21.[16] As of May 14, 2019, the state prohibited abortions after the fetus was viable, generally at some point between weeks 24 and 28. This period uses a standard defined by the US Supreme Court in 1973 with the Roe v. Wade ruling and was not a result of state-based legislation.[10] In 2020 Tennessee banned abortions because of a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome or because of the gender or race of the fetus.[17]
Due to the trigger law prohibiting abortion from the point of fertilization which was adopted on April 22, 2019, abortion became illegal from the point of conception in Tennessee on July 25, 2022, 30 days after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.[18]
Tennessee's heartbeat bill and the Texas-style abortion ban have been in court due to pro-abortion rights organizations suing the state of Tennessee.[22]
Number of abortion clinics in Tennessee by year
On September 12, 2023, three women filed a lawsuit against the state of Tennessee over the state's abortion ban, stating that they were denied abortions despite having dangerous pregnancy complications.[23] On January 8, 2024, four additional women and two doctors joined the lawsuit.[24]
Between 1982 and 1992, the number of abortion clinics in the state declined by 47, going from 128 in 1982 to 33 in 1992.[25] In 2014, there were seven abortion clinics in the state.[26] In 2014, 96% of the counties in the state did not have an abortion clinic. That year, 63% of women in the state aged 15–44 lived in a county without an abortion clinic.[27] In 2017, there were four Planned Parenthood clinics, all of which offered abortion services, in a state with a population of 1,519,130 women aged 15–49.[28]
Municipal actions
On July 13, 2022, the Memphis City council passed the Reproductive Autonomy is Necessary (RAIN) Act in an effort to lessen the extent to which statewide policy will affect childbearing women in Memphis.[29]
Polling
In a 2014 poll by the Pew Research Center, 55% of adults in Tennessee said that abortion should be illegal in all or most cases and 40% said it should be legal.[30] By 2022, support for legal abortion in the state had greatly increased.
Tennessean's views on the legality of abortion by political affiliation (2022)[31]
A pro-choice protest in Memphis, shortly after the leaked Supreme Court opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade
Protests
Women from the state participated in marches supporting abortion rights as part of a #StoptheBans movement in May 2019.[32]
In Memphis and Nashville, groups of people gathered to protest the abortion ban that would take place after the leaked draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade. Many women shared their abortion stories at the protest.[33][34]
In Nashville, Tennessee, hundreds gathered at the Legislative Plaza on June 24, 2022, following the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Protesters also gathered in Knoxville, along Poplar Avenue in Memphis, as well as Founder's Park in Johnson City.[35]
On September 26, 2022, an abortion rights protester began walking across the entire state of Tennessee, a 538-mile walk, to protest the state Supreme Court's decision to overturn abortion rights.[36]
Anti-abortion views and activities
Participants and their children in the March for Life walk along Concord Avenue in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. The march is held annually to mark the anniversary (January 22) of the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade. The signs, designed to resemble stop signs, read, "Stop abortion now".
Protests
In 2020, hundreds of people attended the March for Life in Knoxville supporting abortion bans and restrictions.[37]
Violence
On January 23, 2021, a man fired a shotgun at a Knoxville, TennesseePlanned Parenthood clinic; no one was injured. News outlets noted that the attack took place on the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision and at a time when Tennessee's governor, Bill Lee, was involved in a heated online debate regarding abortion and health care. The same man later attacked the clinic in December.[38]
On December 31, 2021, New Year's Eve, a fire destroyed a Planned Parenthood in Knoxville, Tennessee. The building was closed at the time for renovations. The Knoxville Fire Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives ruled the fire arson. The clinic had previously been shot at in January of the same year.[39] In October 2022, federal court documents identified the arsonist as Mark Thomas Reno, who previously attacked the clinic in January and was present at the January 6 Capitol attack. Reno died on August 15, 2022.[40]
In the period between 1972 and 1974, there were zero recorded illegal abortion death in the state.[43] In 1990, 554,000 women in the state faced the risk of an unintended pregnancy.[25] In 2010, the state had no publicly funded abortions.[44] In 2013, among white women aged 15–19, there were 690 abortions, 650 abortions for black women aged 15–19, 50 abortions for Hispanic women aged 15–19, and 20 abortions for women of all other races.[45] In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 7.4 deaths per 1,000 live births.[46]
Number of reported abortions, abortion rate and percentage change in rate by geographic region and state in 1992, 1995 and 1996[47]
Census division and state
Number
Rate
% change 1992–1996
1992
1995
1996
1992
1995
1996
Total
1,528,930
1,363,690
1,365,730
25.9
22.9
22.9
–12
East South Central
54,060
44,010
46,100
14.9
12
12.5
–17
Alabama
17,450
14,580
15,150
18.2
15
15.6
–15
Kentucky
10,000
7,770
8,470
11.4
8.8
9.6
–16
Mississippi
7,550
3,420
4,490
12.4
5.5
7.2
–42
Tennessee
19,060
18,240
17,990
16.2
15.2
14.8
–8
Number, rate, and ratio of reported abortions, by reporting area of residence and occurrence and by percentage of abortions obtained by out-of-state residents, US CDC estimates
^number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44; ^^number of abortions per 1,000 live births
According to Pew Research Center, in Tennessee, adults aged 30–49 are the age demographic that has the highest percentage of people thinking abortion should be legal in most cases (35%).[51] According to the Lozier Institute, in 2019, 55% of Tennessee's abortions were at 8 weeks gestation or earlier, 23% were performed at between 9 and 10 weeks, 6% at 13 to 14 weeks, and 2% between 17 and 20 weeks.[52] There were 26 cases of failed abortions with no complications, 17 with delayed or excessive hemorrhage, 15 with delayed or excessive hemorrhage after a failed abortion, and 17 cases that had unspecified complications.[52]
Criminal prosecutions of abortion
A 31-year-old Tennessean was charged with attempted first-degree murder in December 2015. The charge was based on an attempt to give herself an illegal abortion using a coat hanger.[53]
Notes
^When the pregnancy was caused by rape, incest, or in cases where the mother's life is in danger.
^Wadhwani, Anita (February 20, 2019). "'Heartbeat' abortion ban advances in Tennessee legislature". Tennessean. USA Today Network. Retrieved February 20, 2019. A bill that would outlaw abortions in Tennessee after a fetal heartbeat can be detected advanced out of a legislative subcommittee on Wednesday. The measure, proposed by state Rep. Micah Van Huss, R-Jonesborough, and state Sen. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, would make it a crime to perform an abortion in Tennessee once a fetal heartbeat can be detected — which typically occurs in the early weeks of a woman's pregnancy.
^Kruesi, Kimberlee (February 26, 2019). "Abortion: Tennessee lawmakers advance fetal heartbeat bill". ABC 6. Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 27, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2019. Republicans on the House Health Committee voted 15-4 to send the legislation to the House floor for a full vote
^Wadhwani, Anita (February 26, 2019). "Bill that bans abortions in Tennessee after fetal heartbeat sails through House committee". Tennessean. USA Today Network. Retrieved February 26, 2019. A House committee voted 15-4 in favor of a bill that would ban most abortions in Tennessee, getting one step closer to a vote by the legislature on one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the nation. The so-called "fetal heartbeat" bill is making its way through Senate committees but easily passed early hurdles. Tuesday's vote in the health committee means the bill moves on to a vote by the House of Representatives.
^Samuels, Brett (March 8, 2019). "Tennessee state House passes 'fetal heartbeat' abortion ban". The Hill. Retrieved March 8, 2019. The Tennessee House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would outlaw abortions in the state after a fetus has a detectable heartbeat. . . The legislation passed 66-21.
^Cates, Willard; Rochat, Roger (March 1976). "Illegal Abortions in the United States: 1972–1974". Family Planning Perspectives. 8 (2): 86–92. doi:10.2307/2133995. JSTOR2133995. PMID1269687.
