Tennessee Right to Life continues to strongly oppose SB745 by Senator Briggs as amended with Amendment #6282 that was filed by the sponsor and is set to be heard in Senate Judiciary Tuesday, March 21, at 1:00 CT. The proposal would weaken the Human Life Protection Act and goes far beyond the simple clarifications that legislators have requested. 

Tennessee Right to Life had hoped that SB745 would get a new sponsor and be amended with Amendment #5705, which is the same language that passed the House tonight and that TRL approves. Unfortunately, that has not happened yet. 

The amendment that Senator Briggs has offered (#6282) would significantly broaden the scope of the HLPA and allow for more children to be aborted in our state and would remove protections from those unborn children who receive a diagnosis of a congenital or chromosomal abnormality. 

Tennessee Right to Life cannot support a bill that would allow unborn children to be legally euthanized.

Dr. Robin Pierucci, a neonatologist who was invited to speak before the Senate Judiciary Committee several weeks ago had compelling testimony prepared and had this to say:

With regards specifically to “lethal anomalies” there is no reason obstetricians need a legal carve-out to abort these babies. It is reasonable to refuse this gruesome request for multiple reasons:

• Doctors get the diagnosis wrong.  Genetic screening tests are often misapplied or misinterpreted, with a significant chance that a positive test result is NOT a true positive; again, the diagnosis is wrong, and the judgement is lethal. 
• Abortion does not cure anything. No other group of human beings with discovered chromosomal abnormalities, handicaps, or special needs are open season for killing. In fact, we have laws to protect them. 
• The inability to cure is never an excuse for abandonment or lack of care. Abortion is, sadly, guilty of both.
• Parents survive better individually and as a couple when they are not accomplices to their own child’s death.”

Senator Briggs has been on a campaign to weaken Tennessee’s law since it went into effect in August of 2022. Tennessee Right to Life Political Action Committee revoked his endorsement last year because of his ongoing attacks and criticisms of the Human Life Protection Act after committing to the PAC and his constituents that he would defend the law against attempts to weaken it.  

The House companion bill HB883 was amended last week with Amendment #5705 which totally rewrote the bill and made it acceptable to the pro-life position and was thus supported by Tennessee Right to Life. That bill passed the full house vote overwhelmingly Monday night. 

Contact members of the Senate Judiciary Committee ASAP and ask them to only support the bill that is amended with the same language that was passed by the House on HB883.