Tennessee Bill Adding Rape Exception to State Abortion Ban Will Probably Fail

Earlier this month, Tennessee Republicans introduced a bill to add a rape exception to the state’s abortion ban—with the condition that victims who “lie” about being raped to access abortion care could be sentenced to up to three years in prison. But on Monday, ahead of a state Senate Judiciary Committee vote on whether to advance the bill (SB857 in the state Senate and HB1440 in the state House) this week, state Sen. Ferrell Haile (R) told local media that upon “surveying” the committee, he learned the bill “[does] not [have] enough support to pass.”

Lorraine McGuire, vice president of community relations and development at the Sexual Assault Center, says it’s “mind-blowing” how much pressure lawmakers have faced from anti-abortion groups to reject the bill. “Most Tennesseans—65 to 80%—believe in exceptions, and so the lawmakers that are opposing this out of fear of [anti-abortion group] Right to Life retaliating, are not actually representing their constituents,” McGuire said. “The majority does believe in a compassionate Tennessee.”

McGuire says that shortly after the bill became public, she met with Haile and state Rep. Iris Rudder (R)—who introduced it in the House—regarding the language that would threaten to criminalize survivors, and they reached an agreement to remove it over the weekend. She adds that lawmakers also agreed to remove a “retraumatizing” requirement that survivors seeking abortion must report their rape to law enforcement, instead mandating that they seek services from a sexual assault center.

“It’s an imperfect bill,” McGuire told Jezebel, noting its “gestational limits.” The bill specifies that child rape victims who are 12 or younger can get an abortion up to 10 weeks into their pregnancy, while children and adults who are 13 or older can have an abortion at up to eight weeks. Overall, the exception “needs to be more accessible.” But she believes it’s still a step in the right direction, and she’s shocked that this basic support for survivors is meeting such intense opposition.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/tennessee-bill-adding-rape-exception-170000225.html