July 14, 2020

Tennessee Heartbeat Bill Signed and Blocked Within One Hour

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee
On Monday, July 13, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed into law House Bill 2263, which would ban discriminatory abortions based on sex, race, or disability as well as any abortions that take place after a fetal heartbeat is detected. Only an hour after the bill was signed into effect, U.S. District Judge William Campbell granted a temporary restraining order against it pending lawsuits from pro-abortion organizations.

The bill would have required all abortionists to perform ultrasounds before attempting an abortion. If a fetal heartbeat was detected by the ultrasound, the abortionist would be forbidden from killing the child.

In a Facebook live broadcast of him signing the bill, Gov. Lee said, “Life is precious and everything that is precious is worth protecting. We know that in Tennessee and I certainly know that in my heart, which is why we worked so hard together with the legislature to make sure that this piece of legislation got done.”

The ACLU, Center for Reproductive Rights, and Planned Parenthood all filed lawsuits against the new law and successfully convinced Judge Campbell to grant a temporary restraining order against its enforcement until he makes a decision on its constitutionality. Campbell stated, “bound by the Supreme Court holdings prohibiting undue burdens on the availability of pre-viability abortions.”

Tennessee legislators had the foresight to ban abortions at eight, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24 weeks of gestation in preparation for the eventual pro-abortion lawsuit challenging the abortion ban starting at the detection of a fetal heartbeat.