What happens to Planned Parenthood in Tennessee if abortion is banned?

Even the before Supreme Court of the United States grew increasingly conservative, Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi began preparing for a reality without a constitutional right to an abortion.

Politico published a leaked opinion late Monday that suggested the court was considering a decision that would overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that established a constitutional right to abortion.

In 2019, both chambers of the Tennessee General Assembly passed what’s known as a “trigger ban” on abortion, which is a law that would automatically go into effect 30 days after Roe v. Wade is overturned.

The passage of the trigger law kickstarted preparations by Planned Parenthood; a central component of this planning is the hiring and training of “patient navigators” — reproductive healthcare providers who will help people access safe and legal abortions outside Tennessee.

Ashley Coffield, CEO of Planned Parenthood, offered a glimpse of a post Roe v. Wade-tennessee in remarks to reporters Tuesday.

The role of patient navigators, Coffield said, will include assessing which barriers a patient faces, such as financial inability or a lack of transportation. And for patients recovering from an abortion, Planned Parenthood will still be able to offer follow-up care in Tennessee.

The healthcare provider is also considering offering emergency contraception pills at no cost to patients, a change from their current practice of offering the contraceptive method at cost.

Planned Parenthood will continue to offer healthcare options aimed at preventing unwanted pregnancies. Other offerings related to sexual and reproductive health like cancer and sexually transmitted disease screenings should not be impacted once Planned Parenthood ceases to provide abortions in Tennessee, Coffield said.

But even as Planned Parenthood plans, a number of unknowns await Tennesseans needing reproductive healthcare and abortion providers.

The state’s current census of children in foster care, around 8,000 according to Franklin-based nonprofit Tennessee Kids Belong, could increase as more individuals are forced into parenthood.

It’s also unclear what implications a post-roe v. Wade era has for infant mortality rates. In Shelby County, the number of children who pass away before their first birthday was among the highest in the nation before a concerted effort to provide more parents access to prenatal care tamped down the number of deaths.

Tennessee’s maternal mortality rate — deaths caused by complications associated with pregnancy — has increased over the last four years, according to state reports. From 2017 to 2020, 113 women in Tennessee died from childbirth complications. Black women in Tennessee are more than 2.5 times as likely to die from these complications compared to their white counterparts, according to the state.

As the healthcare provider and Tennesseans wait and see if the SCOTUS decision will align with the leaked draft, Coffield offered one guarantee to reporters Tuesday.

“Eliminating the right to abortion will have serious life and death consequences for our patients, and we will fight like hell to defend their lives,” Coffield said.

Micaela Watts is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal and can be reached at micaela.watts@commercialappeal.com.