Josh Duggar, the oldest child on the TLC show "19 Kids and Counting," and his wife, Anna Duggar, made a stop in Chattanooga on Tuesday to urge voters to vote yes on Amendment 1. The proposed constitutional amendment would give state lawmakers authority to regulate abortion and abortion clinics.
"We think that passing Amendment 1 is extremely key to moving in the right direction to protect women and children," Josh Duggar said before the rally Tuesday morning.
More than 50 people attended the event at Hickory Valley Baptist Church. It was one of 22 stops planned during the Duggars' 10-day, seven-state "Faith, Family, Freedom Tour."
"If you look at veterinary clinic standards in the state of Tennessee, those are higher than abortion clinic standards, and that is really just a slap in the face to women in this state," Duggar told the crowd.
Corinne Rovetti, a nurse practitioner and co-director for the Knoxville Center for Reproductive Health, said that statement is not true.
"Clinics are already very safe and very regulated," she said. "Anything that you hear otherwise it is a blatant lie."
She added that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, abortion is 99 percent safe and effective. She said a tonsillectomy is twice as risky, again citing the CDC.
Currently, all doctors and nurses are required to be licensed at abortion clinics. Doctors who perform abortions also are required to have admitting privileges at a hospital, as of 2012.
Abortion clinics are for the most part currently evaluated by the Tennessee Department of Health as licensed doctor's offices, rather than as ambulatory surgery centers. The amendment, if passed, could change that. Ambulatory surgical centers have strict regulations about facility structure among other things. The amendment could also bring back mandatory waiting periods or counseling for women seeking abortion.
Rovetti said the amendment is discriminatory and sets out simply to shut down abortion clinics by making them too expensive to operate under new guidelines.
"The restrictions that they're asking for do not target other ambulatory surgery centers," she said. "If they're so concerned with people's safety, why are they not targeting other surgery centers?"
Local anti-abortion activist Charlie Wysong, president of the American Rights Coalition, said at the rally that he agreed the amendment protects women from unregulated doctors.
"Abortion may be legal, but malpractice is not," he said.
When Josh Duggar was asked about why women seek abortions, he said, "Crisis pregnancies are often a challenge for every woman."
"We have to make sure that we're there to meet them when they're in those hard situations to make sure that every situation is met with compassion and care and love," he said.
Contact staff writer Hannah Smith at hsmith@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6731.
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