While the state of Tennessee continues the legal fight to require inspection of abortion facilities owned by Drs. Gary Boyle and Wesley Adams, health authorities in South Carolina have cited a Charleston abortion facility, also owned by infamous abortionists Boyle and Adams. A September 2015 inspection by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control found that the abortion facility has misrepresented the amount of "medical waste" being disposed.  While reporting their "waste" as zero, state inspectors conducted an on-site review of the facility and determined that the facility generates an estimated amount of twenty pounds per month of "pathological waste." Continue reading

U.S. HOUSE PASSES PRO-LIFE RECONCILIATION BILLBill would curtail flow of federal taxpayer dollars to nation’s abortion giant WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the “Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act,” (H.R. 3762), 240-189. (See how TN Congressmen voted below)  Among other things, the bill would block, for one year, most federal payments to affiliates of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). In advance of the vote, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of state right-to-life organizations, advised House members that the roll call on passage of the bill would be included in NRLC's scorecard of key right-to-life votes, and added, "Our members and affiliates will view the roll calls on H.R. 3762 as votes for or against stripping $400 million from Planned Parenthood." H.R. 3762 is a special type of legislation called a "reconciliation bill." This means that it cannot be blocked in the Senate by the filibuster, which has been the main obstacle to previous attempts to pass legislation to defund Planned Parenthood. Nevertheless, the bill faces formidable obstacles in the Senate.  Continue reading

The U.S. House of Representatives will vote Friday, October 23, on the "pro-life reconciliation bill" (H.R. 3762).  This is a fast-track bill containing multiple pro-life provisions. Your immediate action is needed in support of this historic pro-life measure! H.R.  3762 is a special once-a-year measure called the "reconciliation bill."  Unlike almost every other kind of bill, the "reconciliation bill" cannot be filibustered in the U.S. Senate -- so it can pass with only 51 votes, rather than 60 (of 100 senators).  Republicans currently hold a narrow majority in the U.S. Senate, 54-46. Continue reading

Pro-life Tennesseans cringed on the morning of September 14 to learn that Miss Tennessee, Hannah Robison, used the opportunity of last night's Miss America pageant to promote continued federal tax-funding for the nation's leading provider of abortion.   In so doing she failed to represent both the truth about Planned Parenthood and the broad majority of Tennesseans who favor the protection of unborn lives. Armed with the abortion organization's talking points, Robison parroted the phony claim that Planned Parenthood facilities provide mammograms.  "I don't think Planned Parenthood (federal) funding should be cut off," said Robison. "The $500 million (tax) dollars that gets given to Planned Parenthood every single year goes to female care. It goes for scanning for cancer. It goes for mammograms." Continue reading

Call Upon Governor For Emergency Oversight of State's Abortion Facilities Frustrated by the apparent lack of health department regulation of abortion facilities and weak enforcement of state law prohibiting the sale of remains of unborn children killed by abortion, pro-life state Senators are calling upon Governor Bill Haslam and the TN Department of Health to implement emergency rules for abortion providers in the state. Continue reading

Federal Judge Kevin Sharp Issues New Injunction Barring District Attorneys From Enforcing Law In a federal court hearing on August 13, Chief Judge Kevin Sharp issued a new injunction barring District Attorneys in both Davidson and Sullivan counties from enforcing Tennessee's new state law that requires abortion facilities performing 50 or more surgical abortions annually to be licensed and inspected by the TN Department of Health.  As a result of Sharp's actions, abortion facilities owned and operated by abortionists Gary Boyle and Wesley Adams will continue abortions in their unlicensed facilities without inspection or licensure by the TN Department of Health. Further, by Sharp's order, these abortion owner-operators cannot be prosecuted for failing to comply with the new state law. Continue reading

On Tuesday, August 12, Governor Haslam expressed "shock and concern at the callous disregard for life" by Planned Parenthood employees in a letter to Tennessee's legislative Republican Caucus. Haslam continued, "The state does not contract directly with Planned Parenthood nor send any state dollars to them at our initiative." Continue reading

Tennessee State Lawmakers to Review Enforcement of State Law Prohibiting Sale of Fetal Remains In response to the release of undercover videos highlighting Planned Parenthood's aggressive involvement in the harvesting and marketing of fetal body parts, chairmen of Government Operations committees in both the state House and state Senate are preparing to request an investigation of Planned Parenthood's practices in our state. Continue reading

Will Tennessee Become a Destination for Doctor-Assisted Suicide? On July 22, Tennessee Right to Life joined with other state-based medical and advocacy organizations to file an Amicus Brief supporting Tennessee's ban on doctor-assisted suicide.  The brief was authored and filed in Davidson County Chancery Court by attorneys representing Alliance Defending Freedom and promotes the state's position that protection for human life is a basic purpose of government and that such policy decisions should be left to the General Assembly. "Plaintiffs would have this Court ignore clear constitutional precedent, its own role in Tennessee government, the needs of Tennessee residents, and the integrity of the medical profession, to strike down Tennessee's ban on assisted suicide...the active taking of life through prescription of lethal drugs." Continue reading

UPDATE, AUGUST 13: Federal Judge Kevin Sharp issued an injunction today barring district attorneys in Davidson(Nashville) and Sullivan(Bristol) Counties from enforcing the new law that requires that abortion facilities performing 50 or more surgical abortions annually be licensed and inspected by the TN Dept. of Health. UPDATE, AUGUST 10: FEDERAL JUDGE LIFTS TEMPORARY INJUNCTION AGAINST ENFORCEMENT OF INSPECTION AND LICENSURE OF 3 ABORTION FACILITIES   Federal Judge Kevin Sharp conditionally lifted a temporary restraining order that had stopped the state from enforcing the new abortion law.  "There is no indication either of the district attorneys (in Bristol or Nashville) are intending to prosecute." Steven Hart, Special Counsel, Office of the TN Attorney General. (arguing against continued injunction.) So who is going to demand enforcement of the inspection and licensure law supported by a majority of Tennessee voters and their elected representatives?  Click here forThe Tennessean article....    Federal Judge Extends Temporary Injunction Against Enforcement of Inspection and Licensure of 3 Abortion Facilities  Informed Consent, Waiting Period, Hospital Admitting Privileges Remain in Effect Attorneys for 3 TN abortion centers argued this morning (Thursday, July 9) in federal district court that enforcement of the new state law mandating basic health and safety standards at abortion facilities would require "partial demolition" of their abortion facilities and a cost of "twenty to forty thousand dollars" at each location to bring their businesses up to standard. Pro-abortion lawyer Scott Tift urged federal judge Kevin Sharp  to provide "protection from closing their business." Tift claimed that the licensure statute could cause "irreparable harm" to abortion owners and called the pro-life law "disruptive, expensive and burdensome." Continue reading