Tennessee AG: Two more abortion bills 'constitutionally suspect'

Two proposed abortion measures — a 20-week abortion ban and a measure that would prohibit most abortions past the point of fetal viability — are constitutionally "suspect" and "constitutionally infirm," according to a new opinion by the Tennessee Attorney General.

It is the second time Attorney General Herbert Slatery III has weighed in on the constitutionality of abortion measures introduced in the legislature this year. Last month, an attorney general's opinion similarly described as "constitutionally suspect" a bill that would have banned abortions after a fetal heartbeat was detected. The bill failed in the legislature a week later.

The 20-week abortion ban, proposed by Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mt. Juliet and cosponsored by more than a dozen Republican House members, would require any abortion after three months and before 20 weeks be performed in a licensed hospital by a licensed physician. And it would prohibit abortions after 20 weeks with the exception of when a physician certifies the abortion is necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother. The bill is technically still alive in Tennessee's legislature but has not been scheduled for future committee hearings.

The 20-week ban runs afoul of the Supreme Court's ruling that prohibits abortion bans before viability of the fetus.

Read more: http://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/politics/2017/04/05/tennessee-ag-two-more-abortion-bills-constitutionally-suspect/100086522/