A federal appeals court ruled Nov. 20 that “reason bans” in Tennessee’s new abortion law can stand, at least for now.
The regulations passed by the Tennessee legislature in June ban abortion because of a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome or when the decision to abort is based on the race or gender of the baby. The laws make it a Class C felony for a doctor to perform an abortion if they know a patient is seeking the procedure for a banned reason.
The law includes several other abortion prohibitions.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed the bill into law in July, and it was immediately challenged by abortion proponents. The “reasons ban” ruling does not affect separate cases involving other provisions of the law.
Share with others: