Monday, April 19, marked an extraordinary day for pro-life Tennesseans as Governor Bredesen defied expectations and signed into law Tennessee's Freedom from Coercion Act, a protective bill sponsored by state Rep. Susan Lynn and Sen. Jack Johnson which passed overwhelmingly by both the state House (87-8) and state Senate (29-2.)
The Act requires abortion providers throughout the state to post Tennessee's non-coercion policy and provides for fines against those medical facilities which do not comply. Among those required to post the signage are abortion facilities, hospitals, and offices of private physicians who perform abortions.
In addition, Tennessee's state Senate joined the House on Monday evening in easily passing legislation which bans the inclusion of abortion as a benefit within health exchanges required by the recently passed federal health care plan. Tennessee becomes the first state to opt out of the abortion mandate with similar bills pending in Missouri and Louisiana.
The senate bill was sponsored by pro-life state Senator Diane Black (R-Gallatin.) "We must take every action possible to protect Tennessee from being a part of a plan that allows for funding abortions," Black said prior to the Senate vote. "We have worked for years to ensure that taxpayer money is not used for abortion services in Tennessee," added Black, "and we must fight back against this overreach of federal power."
Tennessee Right to Life expresses great appreciation to the following members of the state Senate who voted to protect human life and Tennessee's tax payers. In particular, the leadership of Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey combined with the work of pro-life stalwarts Diane Black and Jack Johnson has resulted in enormous gains for Tennessee's pro-life movement this legislative session.
"Despite the challenges of Planned Parenthood v. Sundquist, Tennessee's pro-life leadership is working creatively to represent the state's pro-life majority and to restore as much protection as the state Supreme Court's terrible 2000 decision currently allows," said Brian Harris, president of Tennessee Right to Life.
"This session's victories demonstrate the importance of pro-life leadership and the necessity for pro-life voters to make sacrificial efforts this fall to continue electing candidates with a demonstrated commitment to the protection of human life," Harris said.
Source: NRLC
Publish Date: April 20, 2010
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Illinois Federation for Right to Life
2600 State Street, Suite E
Alton, IL 62002
Phone: 618-466-4122
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E-mail: mail@ifrl.org
