A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Tennessee law that prohibits adults from helping minors obtain abortions without their parents' approval.
U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger said in a ruling Friday that the state cannot “make it a crime to freely communicate” about legal abortion options, even in a state that bans abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions.
The law will now be put on hold while the case progresses in court.
“The Tennessee General Assembly apparently determined that, when the issue at hand is 'abortion trafficking,' the best interests of the pregnant child are not merely a secondary consideration, but do not merit any particularized consideration at all,” Trauger wrote.
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A pro-abortion protester holds a sign during a demonstration, May 14, 2022, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. (AP Agency)
Earlier this year, lawmakers in the Republican-controlled Tennessee Legislature passed a law that was later signed by Republican Gov. Bill Lee making it illegal for an adult who “intentionally recruits, harbors, or transports” a pregnant minor within the state to obtain an abortion without the consent of the girl’s parents.
Anyone convicted of violating the law will be charged with a Class A misdemeanor, which carries nearly a year in prison. The law does not include exemptions for minors who have been raped by their parents, but a biological father who raped his daughter and caused her pregnancy cannot bring a civil action.
Tennessee's law, which took effect July 1, mimicked Idaho's “abortion trafficking” law, enacted last year, the first state to enact such legislation. But a federal judge has temporarily blocked Idaho's law while the case moves through the courts.
Shortly before the Tennessee law took effect, Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn and Nashville attorney Rachel Welty filed a lawsuit challenging the statute on the second anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 24, 2022, decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, returning to the states the power to create abortion laws.
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Rep. Aftyn Behn, D-Nashville, speaks about a bill introduced in the House of Representatives on April 15, 2024, in Nashville, Tennessee. (AP Agency)
Trauger's ruling supported Welty and Behn's argument that the law was “unconstitutionally vague,” noting in particular that the word “recruits” is not defined in the law.
The judge also expressed concern about the First Amendment restrictions she said the law would impose.
“The freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment is not simply a special protection that the Constitution grants to a few high-profile speakers so that they can hear themselves speak; it is a protection available to all, for the interconnected benefit of all, because messages do not acquire their greatest power when they are spoken, but when they are disseminated,” Trauger wrote.
Behn called Friday's ruling a “monumental victory” for free speech and the fight for abortion access.
The law will now be put on hold while the case progresses in court. (Getty Images)
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“This ruling not only protects Tennesseans, it safeguards the freedom to speak out about abortion care across states, ensuring we can continue to offer support, share accurate information and defend the rights of those seeking essential health care everywhere,” she told The Associated Press.
In Tennessee, abortions are prohibited at all stages of pregnancy, with exceptions in cases of molar pregnancies, ectopic pregnancies, or to save the life of the mother. Doctors must use their “medically reasonable” judgment to determine whether performing an abortion can save the life of the mother or prevent serious injury.
A group of women is currently suing in a separate case to clarify the state's abortion ban.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
