House subcommittee approves 1 abortion bill, halts another

A House subcommittee approved one abortion bill while rejecting another more controversial measure on Wednesday.

The House Health Subcommittee approved an abortion bill, sponsored by Rep. Matthew Hill, R-Jonesborough, that could make it more difficult to get an abortion in Tennessee after 20 weeks unless the pregnancy threatened the life of the mother.

Abortions after 20 weeks are exceedingly rare.

The committee's approval, done with a voice vote, came after nearly 45 minutes of testimony, discussion and debate.

Minutes after the committee approved the measure, another abortion bill, which would have banned abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, was effectively halted for the year after a motion by a Republican lawmaker.

Read more: http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/08/house-subcommittee-approves-one-abortion-bill-halts-another/98911758/