TENNESSEE IS AT IT AGAIN!

TENNESSEE IS AT IT AGAIN!

It seems that the majority of the members of the Senate must have all missed class on the same day. That was the day they were supposed to learn what the word UNCONSTITUTIONAL meant.

The Tennessee Senate just passed an upgraded shitty 20-week abortion ban with some additional crap nuggets inserted for the lucky handmaids of the ‘volunteer state.’ The people that are targeted in this bill are the worst sinners of them all: people with high risk pregnancies (GASP).  So it looks like we have to say this everyday: Abortions after 20 weeks are rare – they accounted for about 1.3 percent of all abortions in 2009. People who seek them usually do so because something has gone terribly wrong with the pregnancy. Well, these people are shit out of luck in Tennessee because there is NO EXCEPTION for fetal abnormalities (or incest, rape, or mental health). If passed, someone who finds out that they have a pregnancy with a FATAL fetal abnormality, they are forced to give birth anyway.

Oh and if you want that post 20-week abortion you reaaaally gotta show it, because this bill also makes you visit two separate doctors to confirm that your fetus is not viable before you can get one. You don’t just need a second opinion in Tennessee, you need an entire state government’s opinion too.

We have Sen. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald to thank for sponsoring this (let’s say it together Senators), UNCONSTITUTIONAL bill. Hensley’s claim to fame is for also sponsoring the “Don’t Say Gay” bill back in 2012, which would have banned public school teachers from mentioning that homosexuality exists. Or maybe his claim to fame is how he allegedly had an affair with his co-worker/nurse/second cousin and prescribed her opioids? With so many claims, will we ever know?

This new bill still has to pass through the House and lawmakers are still not in agreeance as to whether it would survive in a court battle. Janice Bowling, R-Tullahoma claims that “They are voting for the babies that cannot speak for themselves.” Well Janice, the vote SHOULD BE for the people of Tennessee seeking reproductive healthcare with their bodily autonomy intact.

Tennessee lawmakers, get it together and for your gods sake, go back to school.