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'Knowledge is key:' Tennessee attorneys educating about abortion trigger law

Supreme Court Abortion
Posted at 4:09 PM, Sep 13, 2022
and last updated 2022-09-13 19:24:02-04

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tennessee's abortion ban trigger law has been in effect for weeks now, and doctors said it's putting them in a tricky spot: at the intersection of medicine and the law.

Doctors said they worry about medical decisions turning into legal decisions with the overturn of Roe v. Wade.

That's sending the debate about what happens next from out in the streets into quieter rooms filled with lawyers.

A new group of Tennessee lawyers has started a nonprofit called the Tennessee Freedom Circle to educate lawyers who may increasingly be called upon to represent doctors.

"We're so excited this group has convened to prepare criminal lawyers and get them organized should these prosecutions arise," said Rabia Muqaddam with the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Attorneys said the part of the law that allows for a doctor to prove in court that they needed to perform the abortion to protect the life of the mother can be very murky and subjective.

Tennessee Freedom Circle said knowledge about the law is key, before prosecutions under the law may begin.