Tennessee Democrat Rep. Aftyn Behn introduced a state senate bill on Jan. 16 to enshrine access to birth control into law and restore other reproductive freedoms at Tennessee’s 114th General Assembly.
House Bill 0027 amends existing laws that criminalize abortions, remove previously protected reproductive freedoms under Roe v. Wade and tighten access to contraceptives.
Reproductive healthcare encompasses a wide range of medical services. Abortion, contraceptive care, family planning, prenatal care, postnatal care, treatment for sexually transmitted infections, fertility care and sterilization services.
The result of the bill could impact students, as it will change their access to reproductive healthcare. Some MTSU students shared support for the bill.
“I hope it passes because I think that’s just a normal thing that should exist,” MTSU student Megan Hickman said.
MTSU student Dasha Apruda thinks this is a bill that would affect students on campus, as it’s relevant to young women.
“I feel like that bill would be very beneficial to women and their reproductive health and bodily autonomy in general,” Apruda said. “Women should have the choice, should have the right to do whatever they want with their bodies.”
Students looking for support regarding reproductive health and the bill have resources on campus. MTSU’s June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional students provides support to students on female-centered topics.
“We send all students looking for information about reproductive healthcare to the health center,” Maigan Wipfli, the center’s director, said. “We’re more of an outsourcing center, so we inform students of other places that we work with that can help them.”
The bill deletes multiple current provisions that are currently law. The deletions include specifications that a licensed physician can perform an abortion only if they deem it necessary to prevent death or serious harm to the pregnant woman.
It also provides that a fertilized egg or fetus does not have independent rights under Tennessee law when it goes against a pregnant person’s fundamental right to choose.
Other deletions include the definition of conception, which currently states that the fetus is a person from the moment of conception. Likewise, it removes provisions that make it so minors need parental consent to receive an abortion.
The bill would require insurance companies and healthcare plans to offer coverage for reproductive healthcare. Currently, they are prohibited from offering coverage for prohibited abortion services.
Current law provides that when referring to assault or homicide against another person, the words “another,” “individuals” and “another person” all include the fetus at any stage in utero. The inclusion of the fetus in these terms can charge women with a Class C felony when the abortion is not deemed medically necessary. The bill removes the current definition of the word “person” that includes the unborn child.
The “Reproductive Freedom Act” passed on first consideration, meaning that it was approved without major objections.
Through the bill, Behn argues that every Tennessean has the fundamental right to make their own decisions about their reproductive healthcare. It also adds that a pregnant person has the ability to decide to continue their pregnancy and give birth or to have an abortion.
The act maintains that the state cannot interfere with a person’s fundamental rights to facilities and information regarding reproductive health.
Besides Behn, state Sen. London Lamar also voiced support, sponsoring the senate version of the bill.
Other similar bills introduced involved exceptions to abortion bans, a distinction between a criminal abortion and the use of contraceptives and improved access to multi-month prescriptions of contraceptives.
The bill will continue to go through the process to see if it will pass on the second reading. Additional bills in the legislature can continue to be filed until Feb. 6 for debate.
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