The Volunteer State’s oldest and largest pro-life advocacy organization, Tennessee Right to Life, is celebrating three years of the state’s Human Life Protection Act being in effect.
In 2019, the Human Life Protection Act passed the Tennessee General Assembly by a 69-24 vote in the House and 26-5 vote in the Senate.
The bill was written to go into effect upon the U.S. Supreme Court issuing a decision overturning Roe v. Wade or the U.S. Constitution being amended to restore to the states their authority to prohibit abortion.
Upon the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Tennessee’s Human Life Protection Act banning abortion took effect August 25, 2022.
As a result, a number of Tennessee’s abortion clinics immediately began to shutter.
Noting how “more than 1,000 children were aborted in Tennessee every month” prior to the Human Life Protection Act taking effect in 2022, Tennessee Right to Life President Stacy Dunn said, “Tennessee has one of the strongest pro-life laws in the nation.”
“No longer are babies being aborted here by the tens of thousands each year. No longer are women being exploited for profit. And no longer is the abortion industry making big money from the deaths of children in our state. That is something to celebrate…There are children alive today because of the Human Life Protection Act, and we are grateful to our legislators who have worked to keep it that way,” Dunn (pictured above) added.
Looking ahead, Dunn said Tennessee Right to Life is now focused on the “free flow of unregulated and unsafe abortion drugs into Tennessee,” which she noted, “ is not only killing unborn children, it is a real threat to the lives and health of girls and women.”
“Tennessee Right to Life will continue to work with legislators to address the illegal distribution of abortion pills in our state while also informing Tennesseans of the very real danger and harmful effects of these drugs. Pro-life Tennesseans know how difficult this work for life can be, but we also know that it is well worth the time and effort. We are not finished,” Dunn said.
In 2023, the General Assembly amended the Human Life Protection Act to permit abortions only when the mother’s life is in danger.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Fetus” by OnHealth and “Tennessee Right to Life President Stacy Dunn” by Tennessee Right to Life.
