Proposed Abortion Legislation in Tennessee

House Bill 3199 and its companion Senate Bill 3402 were introduced on 2/16. The text of the bill states: "it is an offense for a physician to knowingly perform an abortion on a woman who is eighteen (18) years of age or older unless the physician has received from the woman a signed statement indicating that the woman has notified the man by whom she is pregnant that she intends to have an abortion."

The bill provides exceptions if the woman signs a statement saying the pregnancy is a result of rape and has been reported to law enforcement, is unable "after diligent effort" to notify or identify the man (in which case she must file written notice with the Department of Children's Services to be placed on the department's putative father registry), and in the case of medical emergencies when the life of the woman is at risk. Penalties are a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a $5,000 fine for the physician and a $2,000 fine for the woman.

What is not made clear in the proposed legislation is how it will be enforced and monitored. Will physicians contact men listed on women's statements to verify that they have been notified? If so, how does this square with patient privacy laws? Why are there no exceptions for women who are being abused, or who may have been examined by a medical professional in the case of a rape which may not have been reported to law enforcement? What constitutes a "diligent effort," and how will such effort be verified? Will the Dept of Children's Services essentially keep a list of women who have had abortions, and could that affect them in future custody or other legal actions? According to TN code (36-2-318), the Putative (presumed) Father Registry was established primarily to deal with parentage records relevant to adoption procedures and termination of parental rights. How will the following section apply?

"Those persons contained on the registry shall be given notice by the petitioners in proceedings for the adoption of a child or for the termination of parental rights involving a child, and they shall be necessary parties to the proceedings, and, except as they may waive their rights under subsection (f), must have their parental rights to the child terminated prior to entry of an adoption order, as may be required pursuant to chapter 1, part 1, of this title, unless they have executed a surrender, waiver of interest, or parental consent as provided in chapter 1, part 1 of this title."

Although the proposed law requires 24-hour notice, could this portion be used for additional delays?

A person listed on the registry and entitled to notice of pending adoption or termination proceedings under subdivision (e)(3) shall have thirty (30) days from the receipt of such notice to file a complaint for parentage or to intervene in the adoption proceedings or termination of parental rights proceedings for the purpose of establishing a claim to parentage of the child or to present a defense to the termination or adoption case.

These questions would all seemingly need to be answered with regards to the pending legislation. If you would like to leave a comment with or pose these questions of your legislator, you can find names and email addresses of TN Senate members here and House members here.

(Found via TV on the Fritz)

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MeSH Tags: Abortion, Induces/legislation and jurisprudence