Bill > SB0187

This bill proposes the "Reproductive Freedom Act," which establishes comprehensive protections for reproductive healthcare rights in Tennessee. The bill defines key terms like abortion (terminating a pregnancy), pregnancy (beginning at embryo implantation), and reproductive healthcare (including family planning, contraception, abortion care, prenatal and postnatal services, fertility treatments, and related medical services). It declares that every person has fundamental rights to make decisions about their reproductive healthcare, including the right to use or refuse contraception, choose where and how to give birth, and have an abortion in their community with a support person and provider of their choice. The bill explicitly states that a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent rights under state law. It prohibits state entities from denying, restricting, interfering with, or discriminating against these fundamental reproductive rights, and prevents the state from criminalizing actions taken in exercising these rights. Additionally, the bill makes numerous amendments to existing Tennessee legal codes, effectively removing or modifying several sections related to reproductive healthcare regulations across multiple titles, which suggests a comprehensive overhaul of the state's current reproductive health policies to provide broader protections and access to reproductive healthcare services.

Justice

https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/Billinfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SB0187&ga=114