Tennessee passes wait period, licensing mandate for abortion centers

The Tennessee House passed pro-life bills Tuesday that likely will become the first abortion industry regulations to pass in the state since voters in November modified the state constitution to allow more abortion regulation.

The bills include a 48-hour wait period before performing abortions, with an exception for medical emergencies. The Senate already approved the bill, but the House added an amendment that requires final approval from the Senate. The House and Senate also approved a bill requiring abortion facilities to obtain licensing as ambulatory surgical treatment centers if they perform more than 50 abortions a year. All of Tennessee’s abortion facilities fall under that requirement.

A spokesman for Gov. Bill Haslam said the governor likely will sign both bills.

Tennessee Right to Life (TRL) President Brian Harris thanked legislators for working to protect women and their babies: “Children will now be given a better chance at life because their mothers and families had the extra time and opportunity to make fully informed decisions.”

The legislation was top priority for TRL after passing Amendment 1 in November, Harris told me. For 15 years, the state has lacked most major abortion restrictions, thanks to a state Supreme Court decision in 2000 that interpreted a right to abortion in the state constitution. The regulation vacuum made the state an abortion destination for women living in neighboring states with more stringent regulations.

Amendment 1 neutralized the state’s constitution on abortion, enabling legislators to pass pro-life legislation by a strong majority. The House voted for the wait-period bill 79-18. The Senate passed it with a 27-5 vote. The licensure requirement passed by similar margins.

“Those who profit from unregulated abortion in Tennessee are the losers today,” Harris said.

The bills’ opponents argued the legislation would burden women, especially the 48 hour wait period requirement. It will increase travel expenses for women who travel long distances to the facilities, they said.

Republican state Rep. Matthew Hill, who sponsored the wait-period bill, said the goal was to inform women, not restrict abortion: “We are making all … facts and information available to the women in order to make a careful and fully informed decision.”

But more than informing women, Harris said the legislation empowers them.

“Women, girls, and families are empowered by the requirement that adequate and accurate information is provided to assure careful decisions to protect health and life in our state,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.