Image Credit: TN General Assembly
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
The “Fertility and Contraceptive Protection Act” is a seemingly benign bill which would secure the “right” to seek any and all assisted fertility treatments in the state, but it could lay the grounds to severely undermine pro-life law in Tennessee, especially as the House tabled an amendment aiming to specify some broad language during the Thursday, April 10 floor session.
Representative Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood-District 61) proposed an amendment to HB0533 which would have, without altering any current practice in fertility treatment accessibility or availability:
1) Stated as fact there are no laws in Tennessee against fertility treatment,
2) Defined “contraceptive” as excluding an abortion-inducing drug, and
3) Reaffirmed the state has a compelling interest in the protection of the life of an unborn child as the definition of “unborn child” in Tennessee code means a child from fertilization through birth.
During Thursday’s House floor session, after the bill was conformed to to its Senate companion, SB0449, Rep. Bulso presented his amendment. He affirmed, “The bill needs to be amended because it creates a statutory right for anyone to create and destroy human embryos without qualification, limitation, or restriction. That’s a problem, number one, because it does not treat a human embryo as a person or as a child, which our law does in many places. If you were to concede that you can kill an embryo, then you have given up any scientific argument to outlawing abortion at any further portion of a pregnancy.”
Rising in opposition to the amendment, Rep. Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville-District 45) said he could not support Rep. Bulso’s effort because his middle daughter was born utilizing assisted fertility measures and felt it, “extremely important to have this available for our families. We have great doctors, a great industry that provides assistance for those that can’t have babies on their own and need a little bit of assistance to do that.” Of note, Bulso’s amendment would not have limited or restricted access to fertility treatments or changed current industry practices.
Garrett then moved the amendment be tabled, which also cut off all debate, and Rep. Bulso was allowed a closing statement. He used Louisiana as an example of how his amendment would be beneficial, explaining how their laws, which have been in place for approximately 40 years, recognize a human embryo as a person and outlaw the intentional destruction of any viable human embryo, yet the state still has a robust artificial reproduction technologies system and practice.
He concluded, “The problem is not with IFV, or artificial reproductive technology, the problem is with this bill. It’s extreme. It creates a statutory right for anyone to create and destroy human embryos without any limitation. This bill needs more work, this amendment will help correct it.”
The amendment was tabled 65-31, with two members marking themselves Present Not Voting (PNV). The only amendment the body adopted was one presented by Rep. William Lamberth (R-Portland-District) that clarified the state’s definition of “contraceptive”, which would theoretically exclude certain abortion-inducing drugs from being called contraception.
Though several Republicans spoke in opposition to the bill, voicing concerns over the contradictions it would create with existing pro-life policies, unchecked genetic testing, the ACLU’s support of the measure, and the overall necessity of the legislation as there are no laws currently restricting fertility treatment or accessibility to contraceptives, the measure passed in a 54-37 vote, with 8 Representatives marking themselves PNV. All 37 “No” votes came from Republicans.
Tennessee Right to Life also opposed the bill, stating of its passage, “While we appreciate the addition of an amendment by Rep. William Lamberth to clarify that RU-486 [mifepristone] would not be included in the definition of ‘contraceptive,’ we remained opposed to this legislation because it failed to adequately protect human life in the form of fertilized embryos.”
As the legislation already unanimously passed the Senate in March, the bill will now await Governor Lee’s signature.
Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
