Rep. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald, said he will not support a controversial abortion bill unless it undergoes major changes. The bill would require the Tennessee Department of Health to list online the names of doctors who perform abortions.NASHVILLE – The General Assembly’s only physician member, an anti-abortion Republican, says he expects a controversial abortion bill scheduled today for a House committee vote will undergo major changes or he won’t support the measure.
Rep. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald, said he understands the bill, sponsored by Rep. Matthew Hill, R-Jonesborough, will change substantially.
That includes eliminating a bill provision requiring the state Department of Health to list online the names of doctors who perform abortions in Tennessee.
“We’re going to change that and take it out because we don’t want to target doctors,” Hensley said Tuesday. “We don’t want to … have any kind of violence against them. I don’t agree with doctors doing abortions, but certainly we don’t need to make that public so that they’re in danger.”
He noted that many physicians, including obstetricians, could wind up on the list because of procedures used to treat women who have had a miscarriage.