48-hour abortion waiting period signed into Tennessee law

Women seeking an abortion in Tennessee will now have to make two trips to a clinic, waiting 48 hours after getting in-person counseling from a doctor before being able to return for the procedure, under a new measure signed into law by Gov. Bill Haslam on Monday.

Physicians who do not follow new rules on what to tell their patients during the in-person counseling could face either misdemeanor or felony charges, or risk having their medical licenses revoked.

Tennessee is now one of 27 states to require some form of abortion waiting period, although more may soon be added to the list as legislatures in other states weigh similar measures.

The law's passage marks the second major abortion policy shift in Tennessee this month. Last week the governor signed into law a requirement that all clinics performing more than 50 surgical abortions each year must be regulated as outpatient surgery centers — a law that has forced clinic closures in other states. The measure could jeopardize the operations of two of Tennessee's seven abortion providers that are not already regulated under those Department of Health rules. Four clinics are currently regulated, while a fifth provides only medication abortions — commonly known as the abortion pill — and is not required to meet the new guidelines.

The new laws follow voter approval of Amendment 1 in November, which removed the right to an abortion from the Tennessee Constitution.

The measures represent a major victory for abortion opponents, led by Tennessee Right to Life, which worked for more than 14 years for the passage of the constitutional amendment and aided lawmakers in crafting the language of the new laws. The two measures easily sailed through the Republican-dominated legislature.

"Women and girls considering abortion in our state deserve relevant details and adequate time to make fully informed decisions about the fate of their unborn child," said Brian Harris, president of Tennessee Right to Life. "We are grateful to the voters who approved Amendment 1 and to the public officials who have fulfilled their commitment to restore common-sense protections for women, girls and unborn children in our state."

Backers said the new rules are designed to protect the health and welfare of women. During heated debates, some lawmakers said the laws also were designed to protect unborn children and give women more time to consider abortion alternatives.

For abortion rights advocates — who marched in protest around the Capitol, showed up in pink T-shirts to committee hearings and walked through the hallways of the legislature dressed in 1950s clothing to draw attention to the lives of women in an era before abortion was legal — the laws represent an alarming encroachment on a woman's right to an abortion.

Women may travel 100 miles or more to reach one of Tennessee's seven abortion clinics. Requiring them to make that trip twice will require time off work, child care and travel expenses that place an especially heavy burden on low-income working mothers, according to advocates who also argued that no other medical procedure has a mandatory waiting period in the state. Nationally, nearly two thirds of women seeking abortion already have at least one child at home.

"It is a tool to shame and disgrace women who make the deeply personal decision to end a pregnancy," a news release from Planned Parenthood of the Greater Memphis Region stated. "And it creates unnecessary financial and emotional hardships. The Tennessee General Assembly did not consult the medical community on this bill and even rejected amendments that would make exceptions for victims of rape and incest."

But a recent poll by Vanderbilt University showed Tennessee voters largely support the two-day waiting period, with 60 percent in favor of the measure, while 28 percent oppose it.

Under the new rules, a physician performing an abortion will be required to tell women the following or risk felony or misdemeanor arrest or the revocation of medical license:

• The gestational age of the fetus.

• That "numerous public and private agencies and services are available to assist her during her pregnancy and after the birth of her child, if she chooses not to have the abortion." Physicians are required to provide a list of those agencies upon request.

• A description of the abortion procedure.

• The medical benefits, risks or both of undergoing an abortion or continuing pregnancy to term.

• That if a pregnancy has reached 24 weeks of gestation or more, and a viable child is born during the course of an abortion, the physician has a legal obligation to take steps to preserve the health and life of the child.

There are no clinics in Tennessee, however, that perform abortions past 16 weeks of gestation.

The law includes an exception to the rules in medical emergencies. It also includes a "spring-back" provision if there is a legal challenge to a 48-hour waiting period, reverting to a 24-hour waiting period. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled a 24-hour waiting period is constitutional but has never weighed in on a challenge to a longer waiting period.

Other states are enacting similar measures this year.

Last week Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed into law a 72-hour waiting period.

Florida is one step away from a 24-hour waiting period with in-person counseling after gaining legislative approval. Gov. Rick Scott is expected to sign the bill into law.

And North Carolina also is expected to soon require a 72-hour waiting period — a bill approved by the legislature is awaiting the governor's signature.

Tennessee's new rules, which take effect July 1, come as state legislatures across the country — but particularly in the South and the middle part of the country, including states such as Kansas, Oklahoma and Indiana — are enacting an increasing number of abortion-related laws, a trend that began to gain steam after the 2010 elections sent Republican majorities to many state legislatures. Thirty states have adopted more than 230 separate abortion regulations since then.

This year, through the end of April, there have been 381 abortion restrictions introduced across the country, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights organization that tracks legislation.

Reach Anita Wadhwani at 615-259-8092 and on Twitter @AnitaWadhwani.

This story has been updated to reflect that 27 states have some form of abortion waiting period. An earlier version misstated the number of states.