NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tennessee is one day from its highly anticipated legislative session and a new state representative is pushing a bill to protect reproductive health care.
Representative Aftyn Behn proposed House Bill 1626 to amend Tennessee's current law that bans abortion in early stages of pregnancy.
Behn says this bill is called the Fundamental Right to Reproductive Health Care Act meaning the state cannot interfere with abortion services because it falls under what she says a person's fundamental right.
The bill states every person has a right to make decisions about their reproductive health care, including the right to use or refuse all contraception. It adds a pregnant person has a right to continue a pregnancy or to terminate it.
This comes almost a year after Governor Bill Lee signed a narrow abortion exemption law that allows doctors to use their medical judgement to decide if an abortion can save the life of a pregnant patient or prevent major injury.
Representative Behn says she's proud of the effort to address what she says is an issue in the state. She was the youngest woman elected to the Tennessee House in September after the death of Democratic Representative Bill Beck.
This is a story I immediately went home and showed my boys - young athletes with big dreams. The Vanderbilt football team's success has stolen the spotlight - what I love about Steve Layman's story is he reveals the individual hardships it took to get there. As Clark Lea says, "we all have scuff marks." This team proves perseverance pays off!
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