Abortion

Haslem On Abortion

Highlights:

Haslam Backed An Amendment To The Tennessee Constitution That Would Allow State Lawmakers To Regulate Abortions

Haslam Said He Would Support An Amendment To The Tennessee State Constitution Allowing Lawmakers To Regulate Abortions

Haslam Said He Would Work To Pass An Amendment To The Tennessee Constitution To Allow Lawmakers To Regulate Abortions. According to Local 3 News, “Gov. Bill Haslam says he will work this fall to pass a controversial amendment to the Tennessee Constitution that would grant state lawmakers more authority in regulating abortions.” [Local 3 News, 5/31/14]

Haslam Signed Legislation Banning Abortion After 20 Weeks With No Exceptions For Rape Or Incest

2017: Haslam Signed Legislation Banning Abortion After 20 Weeks Of Pregnancy

2017: Haslam Signed Legislation Banning Abortion After 20 Weeks Of Pregnancy. According to the Associated Press, “Tennessee’s governor signed into law Friday a 20-week abortion ban that exposes doctors to felonies and explicitly forbids exceptions when a woman’s mental health is in danger. The law signed by Republican Gov. Bill Haslam takes effect on July 1.” [Associated Press, 5/12/17]

The Legislation Included No Exceptions For Rape Of Incest

The Abortion Ban Included No Exceptions For Rape Or Incest. According to the Associated Press, “Tennessee’s governor signed into law Friday a 20-week abortion ban that exposes doctors to felonies and explicitly forbids exceptions when a woman’s mental health is in danger. […] Republicans blocked their efforts to include exceptions for rape and incest. The law also blocks mental health exceptions for abortions that could keep a woman from killing or irreversibly harming herself.” [Associated Press, 5/12/17]

The Legislation Blocked Mental Health Exceptions For Abortion, Even If It Could Keep A Woman From Killing Or Harming Herself

The Abortion Ban Prohibited Exceptions For A Woman’s Mental Health, Including Instances Where She May Be Suicidal Or Harming Herself. According to the Associated Press, “Tennessee’s governor signed into law Friday a 20-week abortion ban that exposes doctors to felonies and explicitly forbids exceptions when a woman’s mental health is in danger. […] Republicans blocked their efforts to include exceptions for rape and incest. The law also blocks mental health exceptions for abortions that could keep a woman from killing or irreversibly harming herself.” [Associated Press, 5/12/17]

The Legislation Could Send Doctors To Jail

Doctors Who Performed Abortions Without Proving It Court That The Abortion Was Necessary To Save The Life Of The Woman Could Be Sent To Jail. According to the Tennessean, “Gov. Bill Haslam signed a strict new abortion measure into law on Friday, drawing praise and sharp criticism. The measure will further limit the few abortions already performed in Tennessee past the point of fetal viability — and potentially send doctors to jail if they fail to prove in court that an abortion of a viable fetus was necessary to save a woman's life or prevent substantial or irreversible harm to a ‘major bodily function of a pregnant woman.’” [Tennessean, 5/12/17]

Haslam Said He Had Long Been Anti-Abortion

Haslam Said He Had “Always” Been Anti-Abortion

Haslam: “I Have Always Been Pro-Life Since I Knew It Was An Issue.” According to the Nashville Scene, “On more than a few major state issues, the Knoxville mayor was fuzzy. Those included, surprisingly, whether to change the way we pick judges, and whether to amend the state constitution to strip away abortion rights. Both are big Republican issues, and not exactly insider secrets. The abortion amendment is probably the top priority of the new Republican majority. Yet on both counts, Haslam admitted he's basically clueless. ‘I have always been pro-life since I knew it was an issue,’ Haslam said.” [Nashville Scene, 1/7/09]

Haslam Said He Was “Decidedly Pro-Life.” According to the Knoxville News-Sentinel, “Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam, continuing a gubernatorial campaign kickoff tour of the state, said Wednesday that he expects the Republican primary will require a candidate to spend at least $5 million. […] For example, said he is ‘decidedly pro-life’ but will have to read a proposed amendment to the state constitution on abortion before saying whether he is for or against it.” [Knoxville News-Sentinel, 1/8/09]

Haslam Signed Legislation Placing Restrictions On Abortion Clinics

2015: Haslam Signed A Law Placing Restrictions On Abortion Clinics

2015: Haslam Signed Legislation That Required Clinics That Performed At Least 50 Abortions A Year To Be Licensed Ambulatory Surgical Treatment Centers. According to the Associated Press, “Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has signed a bill into law placing licensing restrictions on abortion clinics. Under the new law, facilities or physician offices would have to be licensed as ambulatory surgical treatment centers if they perform more than 50 abortions in a year.” [Associated Press, 5/11/15]

Abortion Rights Supporters Said The Measure Would Cause Two Health Centers To Close

Abortion Rights Supporters Said The Measure Would Force Two Health Centers To Close. According to Reuters, “A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked a Tennessee law from taking effect next week that would require abortion clinics to be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers, a step which abortion rights supporters had said would force two facilities to close.” [Reuters, 6/26/15]

Haslam Signed Legislation Requiring Tennessee Women To Wait For 48 Hours Before Obtaining An Abortion

Haslam Signed Legislation Creating A 48-Hour Waiting Period Before Tennessee Women Could Obtain An Abortion

Haslam Signed Legislation Requiring Tennessee Women To Undergo A 48-Hour Waiting Period Before They Could Obtain An Abortion. According to Reuters, “Agreeing there must be a 48-hour waiting period between a woman consulting her doctor about an abortion and the time it can be performed, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signed the second of two major abortion regulation bills into law Monday.” [Reuters, 3/18/15]

Haslam Signed Legislation Requiring Abortion Providers To Have Admitting Privileges At A Local Hospital

Haslam Signed Legislation requiring That Abortion Providers Have Admitting Privileges At A Local Hospital

Haslam Signed Legislation Requiring Abortion Providers To Have Admitting Privileges At A Local Hospital. According to the Knoxville News-Sentinel, “Haslam also signed a pair of bills sought by anti-abortion groups. House Bill 3808, known as the Life Defense Act of 2012, will require abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a hospital in the county where they perform an abortion or in a neighboring county.” [Knoxville News-Sentinel, 5/12/12]

The Measure Was Found To Be A High Hurdle For Abortion Providers

Washington Post: Admitting Privileges Requirements “Proved An Especially High Hurdle For Abortion Providers To Clear.” According to the Washington Post, “Among the raft of abortion restrictions passed by states in the past few years, one did not initially gain much notice — a requirement that doctors performing abortions obtain admitting privileges at a local hospital. But the measure, which 11 states have passed in some form, has proved an especially high hurdle for abortion providers to clear and a potent tool for antiabortion activists seeking to shut down abortion clinics.” [Washington Post, 8/10/14]

At Least One Clinic In Tennessee Closed Because Of The Requirement

At Least One Abortion Clinic In Tennessee Closed Because Of The Requirement. According to the Washington Post, “Already, more than a dozen clinics have been shuttered in Texas as a result of that state’s admitting-privileges law, and at least one closed in Tennessee.” [Washington Post, 8/10/14]

Haslam Opposed Access To Affordable Contraception

Haslam Said He Did Not Want Tennessee To Support Contraception Access

Haslam Said He Would Oppose Efforts For Tennessee To Support Contraception Access. According to the Associated Press, “After the meeting, Haslam clarified his stance on subsidized birth control, saying, “No, I wouldn't be in favor of the state supporting contraceptives. I would not favor them.’” [Associated Press, 10/19/10]

Haslam Opposed Planned Parenthood

Haslam Signed Legislation Stripping TennCare Funding From Planned Parenthood In Tennessee

Haslam Signed Legislation Stripping All TennCare Funding From Planned Parenthood Of Tennessee. According to the Times Free Press, “Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has quietly signed into law a controversial bill that seeks to strip all TennCare funding from Planned Parenthood of Tennessee.” [Times Free Press, 4/11/18]

The Legislation Required TennCare To Seek A Waiver To Allow Tennessee To Exclude Medicaid Providers Who Performed Elective Abortions. According to 3B Media News, “On Thursday, April 12, 2018, Governor Bill Haslam signed into law House Bill 2251. Effective immediately, the law requires TennCare to seek a Medicaid waiver from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that would allow Tennessee to exclude providers who perform elective abortions.” [3B Media News, 4/13/18]

Haslam Said He Would Not Want Tennessee To Participate In A Federal Program That Paid The Lion’s Share Of Family Planning Costs Due To Its Association With Planned Parenthood

Haslam Said He Opposed Tennessee’s Participation In A Federal Medicaid Program That Covered Up To 90% Of The Cost Of Family Planning Services Because It Was Connected To Planned Parenthood. According to the Associated Press, “Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike McWherter and Republican Bill Haslam disagree over whether to spend state money on birth control for poor people. McWherter said the state should participate in a federal Medicaid program that pays up to 90 percent of the cost of family planning services, according to The Commercial Appeal newspaper. The program contracts through Planned Parenthood, which also provides abortion services, although the procedure is not paid for by the federal program. Haslam said he does not support participation in that program because of the Planned Parenthood connection. ‘As somebody who is pro-life, Planned Parenthood has a definitely different mission,’ Haslam said. ‘They're not somewhere that I'm going to support giving money to, pretty simple.’” [Associated Press, 10/19/10]

Haslam Encouraged Local Municipalities To Cut Off Contracts With Planned Parenthood

Haslam Encouraged Local Governments To Cut Off Contracts With Planned Parenthood, Which They Did. According to PolitiFact, “Anti-abortion activists, angered over the unexpected turn of events, began an email and telephone campaign asking Haslam  to come up with some other way to divert funding from Planned Parenthood. He did, directing the state Health Department to step up its efforts to encourage  Davidson and Shelby counties to end their local contracts with Planned Parenthood. Davidson County did last summer, but it became a battle in Shelby County until it also went along last fall.” [PolitiFact, 1/30/12]