Tennessee is cracking down on the widely unregulated abortion industry with a series of new measures that would ban the sale of aborted babies’ body parts and establish an assessment process for abortion clinics.
Introduced by Gov. Bill Haslam in January, the bill would strengthen reporting requirements for the disposal of aborted babies and ban any form of sale or reimbursement for them, The Tennessean reports. The measure also would establish “a mandatory interim assessment process for an ambulatory surgical treatment center that annually performs more than 50 abortions,” according to the report.
A Tennessee House committee passed the bill on Wednesday, according to the report. The bill moves on to another state House committee before it can be voted on by the full House, the report states.
Like lawmakers in many other states, Haslam said he introduced the legislation in response to the undercover videos showing top Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of aborted babies’ body parts. Since the shocking undercover videos were released, dozens of states have moved to ban the sale or use of aborted babies body parts for research, regulate abortion clinics and stop tax dollars from going to abortion groups like Planned Parenthood.
In July, the state also launched an investigation into the abortion industry in Tennessee as a result of the undercover videos. The Planned Parenthood affiliate in Tennessee said it has never participated in a “fetal tissue donation program.”
Jeff Teague, CEO of the state abortion affiliate, is lobbying the governor to change parts of the bill. In March, Teague told the newspaper he did not like a requirement that abortionists discuss disposal methods with women seeking abortions. (continue reading)