NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It has been nearly two months since Tennessee's trigger law went into effect, but the debate over abortion rights continues.
Following the ban, Francie Hunt had an idea.
"So, I decided that I was going to walk in protest and pilgrimage from Memphis to Johnston City — 538 miles — in support of abortion rights and our bodily autonomy," said the Executive Director of Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood.
She's walking from one end of Tennessee to the other. So far, Hunt has logged 238 miles of her journey.
"People stop and ask us what we're doing and I tell them we're walking across the state for abortion rights and 100% of the time they're like, 'good for you,'" said Hunt.
Sunday, she walked a mile in Nashville from the Nashville Music City Walk of Fame Park to the state capitol along with some doctors and supporters.
"ForwardTN is a 501(c)3 non-partisan, non-profit organization that supports causes and organizations working to make Tennessee a fairer, healthier and more equitable state," their website said.
The group marched to the steps of the state capitol where physicians took turns at the microphone, including Dr. Amy Gordon Bono.
"Since this law has been enacted I have seen a lot of fear in the eyes of my patients, and it greatly concerns me," she said.
As we have previously reported, doctors said the trigger law has put them into a tricky spot with medicine and the law. Some worry about medical choices turning into legal ones following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
"When a medical procedure that has a therapeutic indication — whenever that procedure becomes criminal — we are on a very slippery slope in medicine," Bono said.
With November 8 around the corner, their message is clear.
"If we can walk 538 miles across the state, people can drive to the polls," said Hunt. "People need to vote."
