Tennessee Abortion Ban Goes Into Effect That Protects All Babies From Abortion

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Aug 26, 2022   |   12:56PM   |   Nashville, Tennessee

A new Tennessee abortion ban is going into effect today that protects all babies from abortion.

Thanks to the Supreme Court making its Dobbs decision official, trigger laws in multiple states have gone info effect — including in Tennessee today that will protect all babies from abortions and only allow abortions in very limited instances such as saving the life of the mother in medical emergencies.

In June, the Tennessee heartbeat law went into effect following the Dobbs decision. The pro-life law protects babies from abortions and it has already been responsible for closing two abortion businesses. While the pro-life law bans abortions on babies when their heart starts beating, the trigger law will offer full legal protection for unborn children starting from conception.

The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office previously announced it would happen 30 days after the Supreme Court officially entered its judgment for overturning the Roe. V. Wade case — which the court did on Tuesday.

Three years ago, Tennessee lawmakers passed the “Tennessee’s Human Life Protection Act” trigger law to almost entirely ban abortions in the state if the Supreme Court ever overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade case.

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Leading pro-life advocates celebrated the news today.

“The end of abortion-on-demand in our state is a badge of honor for Tennessee,” State Rep. Susan Lynn, a Republican from Mt. Juliet and one of the law’s chief sponsors, told WGNS radio.

“I think what we need to make sure is that there is an ability for a doctor to perform in the case of a dangerous maternal health situation,” Lee said, according to the Tennessean. “My sense and understanding from the law is that does exist now.”

“It will protect the life of the unborn which is incredibly important,” Lee said on the law. “It’s also incredibly important we protect the life of mothers. Our law is designed to allow for doctors to perform procedures in dangerous maternal health situations where the life of the mother is at stake. That is how that bill was constructed. It protects the life of the unborn. It protects the life of the mother.”

As LifeNews reported, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, with a 6-3 majority ruling in the Dobbs case that “The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion” — allowing states to ban abortions and protect unborn babies. The high court also ruled 6-3 uphold the Mississippi 15-week abortion ban so states can further limit abortions and to get rid of the false viability standard.

Chief Justice John Roberts technically voted for the judgment but, in his concurring opinion, disagreed with the reasoning and said he wanted to keep abortions legal but with a new standard.

Texas and Oklahoma had banned abortions before Roe was overturned and Missouri became the first state after Roe to protect babies from abortions and South Dakota became the 2nd. Then Arkansas became the third state protecting babies from abortions and Kentucky became the 4th and Louisiana became the 5th and Ohio became the 6th and Utah became the 7th and Oklahoma became the 8th and Alabama became the 9th. This week, Mississippi became the 10th and South Carolina became the 11th,Texas became the 12th with its pre-Roe law and Tennessee became the 13th.

Michigan, Wisconsin and West Virginia have old pro-life laws on the books but there is question about whether they are applicable and will be enforced.

Ultimately, as many as 26 states could immediately or quickly ban abortions and protect babies from certain death for the first time in nearly 50 years.

The 13 total states with trigger laws that would effectively ban all or most abortions are: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

“Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives,” Alito wrote.

“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences,” Alito wrote. “And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.”

Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer authored a joint dissent condemning the decision as enabling states to enact “draconian” restrictions on women.

Polls show Americans are pro-life on abortion and a new national poll shows 75% of Americans essentially agree with the Supreme Court overturning Roe.

Despite false reports that abortion bans would prevent doctors from treating pregnant women for miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies, pro-life doctors confirm that is not the case. Some 35 states have laws making it clear that miscarriage is not abortion and every state with an abortion ban allows treatment for both.