Senate delays vote on abortion amendment
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Before the resolution was held over, the Senate voted 17-15 to amend it. The adopted amendment stripped provisions of another amendment under consideration that would have provided state constitutional protection for abortion in cases of rape, incest, or a threat to the life of the mother.
Sen. Roy Herron, D-Dresden, supported having those exceptions in the constitution, as opposed to the more easily changed state law.
“This amendment is offered so that in those most tragic of cases when a woman’s life is in danger, when a woman is the victim of rape or incest, they can make what they believe to be the best decision,” Herron said.
The sponsor of the amendment stripping the protections, Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, said his objective was to “try to equalize the balance of power between the legislative and judicial branches” of the state government.
Norris and others argued the amendment is needed because the state Supreme Court, in a 4-1 decision in 2000 striking down state abortion restrictions, found protections for abortion that do not exist in the Tennessee Constitution. The court ruled that the state constitution gives a woman abortion rights broader than those spelled out in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade.
“We wouldn’t be having this debate if we trusted what the Supreme Court would say on those issues,” said Sen. Jeff Miller, R-Cleveland.
Norris’ amendment says the Legislature can allow abortions in cases of rape, incest or danger to the life of the mother. But those protections would not be in the constitution.
Opponents noted it was inconsistent to allow exceptions to a constitutional protection that would not exist if the resolution is adopted.
“I don’t know where we all went to law school, but … it ought to be real clear to everybody. This is nonsensical. It’s silly,” said Sen. Doug Jackson, D-Dickson. “For goodness sake let’s not put something in the constitution that’s embarrassing. I don’t want to read tomorrow we can’t even arrange a paragraph correctly.”
The amended version of the resolution by Sen. David Fowler, R-Signal Mountain, passed 20-12 after supporters won a series of close procedural votes before a gallery packed with supporters.
If the resolution passes the Legislature this year — and its fate is not certain in the House — it would have to be read three more times in the two-year General Assembly that begins next year.
On the third reading, it would have to receive a two-thirds majority vote in both houses before going to the 2006 general election for adoption or rejection.
“The bottom line is this (Norris) amendment provides the appearance but not the reality of constitutional protection for those who are victims of rape or incest,” Herron said.
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