State Representative Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) on Saturday confirmed he remains “confident” Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti will successfully defend the Tennessee law that bans abortion trafficking after U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger (pictured above, left) temporarily blocked it with a Friday ruling.
In the latest development in the court case brought by State Representative Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville) against the law which prohibits non-parental guardians from facilitating the travel of a minor for the purpose of obtaining an abortion, The Associated Press reported Trauger noted ruling the Tennessee General Assembly is prohibited from making “it a crime to communicate freely” about legal abortion.
Trauger seemed to indicate her court believes the First Amendment arguments asserted by Behn, with the judge reportedly writing in her ruling, “The freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment is not simply a special protection that the Constitution grants to a few, high-profile speakers so that those speakers can hear themselves talk; it is a protection available to everyone, for the interconnected benefit of everyone, because messages do not gain their fullest power by being uttered, but by being spread.”
Proponents of the law maintain the legislation is about parental rights, as it merely restricts non-guardian adults from facilitating an abortion for a child, and Zachary wrote in a post to the social media platform X that he expects the law will eventually be determined valid.
“The law in question is about parental rights, period. The language prohibits an adult who is not the parent [or] guardian of a minor from facilitating an abortion for that minor without the parent’s consent. This is common sense,” the lawmaker wrote.
Zachary (picture above, right) continued, “Unfortunately, the radical left’s obsession with aborting babies led to this legal challenge. I’m confident our AG will successfully defend the law, securing parents rights to make decisions for their child.”
Abortion is a settled issue in TN. We have prohibited the elective killing of a baby in the womb. We do have an exception for the life of the mother.
The law in question is about parental rights, period. The language prohibits an adult who is not the parent/guardian of a minor… https://t.co/vd8cghhheo— Rep. Jason Zachary (@JasonZacharyTN) September 21, 2024
In a statement posted to Substack, Behn called the ruling by Trauger “a monumental victory” and claimed the abortion trafficking law is “a blatant attempt to stifle crucial conversations about abortion resources and intimidate people into silence.”
Skrmetti’s office argued the lawsuit should be dismissed in July, when it submitted a motion to dismiss that argued Behn’s lawsuit is so legally without merit that “no amount of repleading” could make it appropriate for a federal courtroom.
According to Skrmetti’s office, “the law’s text—properly interpreted—does not prohibit pure speech or advocacy about abortion at all,” but instead “prohibits only affirmative conduct intended to convince a minor to cross state lines, without parental consent, to obtain an abortion that Tennessee law prohibits, or transporting or harboring a minor for that purpose.They have not come close to demonstrating an intent to engage in that sort of conduct.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Image “Judge Aleta Trauger” by Tennessee Bar Foundation and photo “State Rep Jason Zachary” by State Rep Jason Zachary.
Thank you, Heavenly Father, for raising up people like Rep. Zachary and AG Skrmetti who protect the preborn.