Tennesseans could be charged with the felony of “abortion trafficking” for helping someone under 18 terminate a pregnancy by traveling out of state or helping them obtain abortion-inducing medication under a bill proposed this week by a Knoxville state representative.
The legislation targets any abortion but specifies that an adult who “recruits, harbors or transports” the teen within Tennessee in such circumstances would be committing a crime “regardless of where the abortion is to be procured.”
Abortion rights advocates say the bill will primarily target people going out-of-state, given that almost no abortions have been performed in Tennessee since a ban went into effect in August 2022.
House Bill 1895, brought by Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, would also allow the parents or maternal grandparents of an aborted fetus to sue for damages.
(READ MORE: Tennessee sued after abortion care for women with pregnancy complications denied)