Should “We the People” of Tennessee Regulate Abortions?
Yes, we should have a say in how abortion procedures are conducted in our state. A Yes vote on Amendment One returns power to the people, and it protects women’s health and well-being. Amendment one is one of four state constitutional amendments Tennesseans must decide on November 4th.
As expected, Planned Parenthood and pro-abortionists groups are spreading lies about the intent and purpose of the proposed Amendment One to the state constitution. Amendment One is not about denying women the right to an abortion. Hopefully, “We the People” of Tennessee are not uninformed enough to believe that a “yes” vote on Amendment One will somehow allow the state to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the 50 states.
If a yes vote on Amendment One is not about overturning Roe v. Wade, then why bother to vote at all? That’s a good question. A non-vote on the issue is a “no” vote. A no vote means you like the status quo. In Tennessee, the status quo means no regulation of abortion and no protections for the vulnerable women who travel to Tennessee from other states seeking easy access to an abortion. It turns out that we have distinguished our state as having the least-restrictive abortion laws in the entire Southeast.
What does this mean in practical terms? It means that the women who come here have no protections from unclean, unsanitary clinics that are not inspected by the state. It also means that women don’t receive informed consent based on their health history and what is known about the long-term consequences of induced abortions. These can include a higher risk of breast cancer, pre-term births, sterilization, and maternal suicide from depression.
We the People of Tennessee cannot stop abortions, but we can ensure that women who get abortions in our state will benefit from a number of things, including 1) informed medical consent based on their health history; 2) a short, 24-hour waiting period so they can process the information received; 3) access to clean, state-inspected facilities to avoid situations that have occurred in other states where women have died from unsafe, unsanitary conditions; and 4) hospitalizations for late-term abortions, defined as those in which their unborn child has reached 24 weeks or more. These are commonsense safeguards that will protect women’s health and should be supported by Democrats and Republicans. Passage of Amendment One will enable our leaders to enact the same protections that women receive in other neighboring states. Governor Bill Haslam, Speaker of the House Beth Harwell, and Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey are among the leaders who support Amendment One.
