NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Lawmakers have the opportunity to pass an exception to Tennessee's abortion ban.
Under the state's current law, physicians can be charged with a felony for terminating a pregnancy, even if it's an ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage. This has raised eyebrows in the medical and legal communities.
Tennessee Right to Life — a power player behind the trigger law — agreed to an amendment according to Will Brewer, their director of government relations.
“This would change the affirmative defense to what we call an objective standard — so the doctor is allowed to treat a medical emergency when the mother’s life, or physical health is at risk, if what that doctor is doing is what any reasonable doctor would do in that situation," Brewer said.
Brewer said they support this clarification to save the life of the mother.
“The Attorney General’s legal concerns are somewhat alleviated, but yet the law as it stands is not weakened. We’re not allowing anymore abortions to occur than are already necessary,” Brewer said.
However, a Franklin OBGYN with Protect My Care said it's only a drop in the bucket.
“For instance, if someone comes in at 17 weeks, and they’re hemorrhaging, and the baby still has a heartbeat, we don’t have parameters that tell us exactly how close to death she needs to get before we can intervene," Dr. Laura Andreson said.
Protect My Care fights against government interference from politicians.
“I think that even though we are getting some exceptions placed, it still leaves a huge liability for women and physicians in Tennessee,” Andreson said. “I think we can do better.”
She's calling on lawmakers to find middle ground.
“I honestly believe if this stays in place, we will see the death of women in Tennessee. We’ll see death or potentially horrible outcomes that could have been avoided," Andreson said.
On Monday, the bill was in the Senate Judiciary Committee. More on the bill here.
