Bill > HB0179

This bill amends Tennessee's criminal abortion law to provide two specific exceptions to the criminal abortion offense: first, when a licensed physician determines that an abortion is necessary to protect the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman based on the facts known at the time, and second, when the pregnancy resulted from specific types of sexual crimes including aggravated rape, rape, rape of a child, especially aggravated rape, especially aggravated rape of a child, or incest. These exceptions would allow physicians to perform abortions in these limited circumstances without facing criminal prosecution, which would otherwise be classified as a Class C felony. The bill is set to take effect on July 1, 2025, and modifies existing Tennessee law by replacing previous subsections (b) and (c) of Section 39-15-213 with these more detailed provisions that outline the specific medical and criminal circumstance exceptions to the criminal abortion statute.

Health and Social Services

https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/Billinfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=HB0179&ga=114