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(Nashville)
Less than one month after Congress passed its sweeping health care bill,
Tennessee's Legislature has become the nation's first to make clear that
abortion will not be a funded benefit in its health exchange programs.
Bi-partisan majorities in both the state House (70-23) and the state Senate
(27-3) easily approved language which states "No health care plan
required to be established in this state through an exchange pursuant to
federal health care reform legislation enacted by the 111th Congress shall
offer coverage for abortion services."
"At the end of the day this is very simple," said House
sponsor, Rep. Matthew Hill (R-Jonesborough). "Do your constituents
want their tax money going to kill unborn babies, it's as simple as
that," Hill said before House passage on April 12.
Senate sponsor Diane Black
(R-Hendersonville) stated, "We must take every action possible to
protect Tennessee from
being a part of a plan that allows for funding abortions."
"We have worked for years to ensure that taxpayer money is not used for
abortion services in Tennessee," added
Black, "and we must fight back against this overreach of federal
power."
Tennessee Right to Life
commends both sponsors and their pro-life colleagues. "Tennessee is a
strongly pro-life state, and with principled pro-life leadership in both
chambers, we are finally able to restore some common sense balance to this
state's policies," said Brian Harris, president of the state's
oldest and largest pro-life organization.
"Until the voters are able to undo some of the damage brought by
activist judges, there are few statutes that we can pass and enforce," Harris
said referencing the 2000 ruling by the Tennessee Supreme Court in Planned
Parenthood v. Sundquist, which identified a fundamental right to abortion in
the Tennessee Constitution.
"We're hopeful, however, that the protection of Tennessee's
taxpayers to not be forced to fund elective abortions is one that will
clearly meet muster," said Harris.
The vote to remove abortion funding from government-backed health exchanges
follows other abortion votes this session in which pro-life legislative
majorities moved decisively, including passage of bills to defund Planned
Parenthood, to require abortion providers to post the state's non-coercion
policy and to bring a public vote on SJR 127 in
2014 allowing voters to decide whether or not the Tennessee Constitution
protects a right to abortion.
"Having legislative leaders who actually represent the views and
voices of their pro-life constituents has made all the difference," said
Harris. "It also highlights the critical importance of next
fall's elections here in Tennessee."
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