NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Republican state lawmaker is drafting a bill — in coordination with Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Tennessee Medical Association — to expand some of the exceptions to Tennessee's near-total ban on abortion.
"The present law that we have now says you cannot intervene unless the woman’s life is in danger," said Sen. Richard Briggs, R-Knoxville, who is also a physician.
Briggs said the bill is still being drafted, but they want to make it possible for a pregnancy to be terminated if the mother's fertility is in jeopardy.
"If you wait until she develops life-threatening bleeding, you may have to do an emergency hysterectomy. Or if you wait until she had a severe life threatening infection, she would scar her tubes. In both of those cases, she would be unable to have children," said Sen. Briggs, who pushed for an abortion bill with more wide ranging exceptions last year.
Briggs also wants a termination of pregnancy to be allowed if the child's life is not viable.
"I don’t think a woman should be required to carry a fatal pregnancy to term just because we say you can’t treat it," he said.
Passing a bill like this with a Republican supermajority could be a tall task. Perhaps with that in mind, Briggs billed his legislation as 100% supportive of the pro-life movement.
"If you really think about it, when a woman becomes sterile, you’re denying the right to life for a child that would be born who hasn’t been conceived yet. So, I think this is the most comprehensive right-to-life deal that we could draw up," said Briggs.
Briggs says he hasn't decided yet whether the legislation will specifically list which medical conditions will grant an abortion exception or if they'll leave it more open ended.
Once the bill is officially filed, NewsChannel 5 will provide more details.
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