NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Gov. Bill Lee signed into law this week a bill that would prohibit local government from assisting anyone in getting an abortion.
After the Supreme Court of the United States decision on Roe v. Wade, Mayor John Cooper and three councilwomen called on the Metro Employee Benefit Board to extend health coverage for employees to seek care out of state. This bill would prohibit anything like that.
Abortion started out in January as one of the most heated discussion points in the Tennessee legislature. The state's total abortion ban came last summer after the Dobbs decision caused Roe v. Wade to fall in the Supreme Court of the United States. The Republican legislature prepared for the moment. Trigger laws in Tennessee went into effect in less than 30 days following the Human Life Protection Act voted on by the legislature in 2019.
Last summer, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision enacted the six-week abortion ban law first. Then Planned Parenthood providers performed their last abortion Tuesday in Tennessee. The legislation — known as the "heartbeat bill" — meant abortions couldn't happen after cardiac activity was detected on an ultrasound.
No other city, other than Nashville, floated an idea that would directly go to those seeking abortions, which is illegal in Tennessee in all cases.
