State bill would give fathers abortion veto power
In an effort to further restrict abortion in Tennessee, two Tennessee lawmakers have introduced legislation that would allow a father to deny an abortion without the pregnant woman's consent.
SB494/HB1079, sponsored by Sen. Mark Pody, R-lebanon and Rep. Jerry Sexton, R-bean Station, would give a man who gets a woman pregnant the veto power to an abortion by petitioning a court for an injunction against the procedure.
Tennessee lawmakers already passed one of the nation's most restrictive abortion laws last year, although much of it is held up with legal challenges from abortion rights advocates. The ongoing court battle could stretch for months if not years.
Despite the outlook for potential lawsuits, state lawmakers appear adamant in pushing for stricter abortion laws this legislative session. Including Pody and Sexton's legislation, six bills to further restrict abortion have been filed this year.
Pody said Wednesday he introduced his bill after a Tennessee resident expressed concerns that fathers do not have a say over abortion under the current law. He said his bill would assure fathers' right to make a decision about an unborn child.
“I believe a father should have a right to say what's gonna be happening to that child,” Pody said. “And if somebody is going to kill that child, he should be able to say, ‘No, I don't want that child to be killed. I want to able to raise that child and love that child.'”
But the bill language has drawn criticism from abortion rights groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee and the state's Planned Parenthood chapter.
“This unconstitutional legislation demonstrates the condescending mindset underlying this bill: that men
should control women’s bodies,” ACLU of Tennessee Executive Director Hedy Weinberg said in a statement. “Women are not chattel and this bill needs to be stopped in its tracks.”
Francie Hunt, executive director of Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood, called the bill “insulting” in a Wednesday statement. She criticized the legislative priorities of state lawmakers as “out of step with the dire needs” of Tennesseans amid a pandemic.
“A pregnant person must have the ultimate control over their body and their pregnancy,” she said in a statement. “The legislature needs to stop trying to distract the public from their leadership failures with increasingly stigmatizing abortion restrictions.”
How the bill would work
Under the bill, a judge would be able to grant the petition as long as the petitioner proves he’s the biological father of an unborn child and there is a “reasonable possibility” the woman would seek an abortion. If the woman acknowledges the petitioner’s fatherhood, no DNA evidence would be required, Pody said.
It would be up to the judge to ultimately decide if there’s enough evidence to establish one’s paternity, Pody said.
For unmarried couples, the father would have to voluntarily establish his paternity, but can do so without the woman’s consent. Once paternity is established, the father would have the ability to deny an abortion.
A man who voluntarily establishes paternity should be responsible for child support and fulfill other parental obligations, Pody said, and would not be able to rescind or challenge the acknowledgement of paternity afterward.
“He can’t turn around under any circumstance and say, ‘I was wrong, and it’s not mine,’” he said.
The injunction against the abortion could be granted even without both parties present for the proceedings, Pody said. The woman would be penalized at the court’s discretion if she violates the injunction.
The bill makes no exception for rape or incest. Weinberg said the legislation could lead to “dangerous” consequences.
“This extreme and dangerous bill would even allow a rapist to stop his victim from ending a pregnancy,” she said in the statement.
Hunt echoed Weinberg’s concern. “Nobody should have the power to make health care decisions for someone else — not a judge, a partner, and certainly not a rapist regardless of paternity,” she said.
But Pody said he does not believe rapists would voluntarily go before the court and acknowledge their paternity to stop an abortion.
“If somebody comes up and says, ‘Yes, I raped her and I’m the father,’ he should immediately go to jail,” he said. “I just do not believe that somebody is gonna come in and say, ‘I committed this crime, I’m guilty of this crime. Put me in jail.’”
Tennessee’s abortion restrictions
Women seeking abortions are still allowed to do so under the current law, as legal challenges have halted enforcement for many of the restrictions.
The law passed last summer would prohibit abortions after the detection of fetal heartbeat, which can be as early as six weeks. The language includes an exception for women whose lives are in danger, but makes no exception for rape or incest. It would be considered a Class C felony for any physician to perform an abortion in those cases.
Part of the ban, which survived a court challenge last November, also bans abortions over the child’s sex, race or the diagnosis of Down syndrome.
Under the law, doctors are also required to show the woman images of the fetus, allow her to listen to the fetal heartbeat and inform her of certain information about the fetus, including its gestational age, location within the uterus, dimensions, body parts and organs.
Reach Yue Stella Yu at yyu@tennessean.com or 615-913-0945. Follow her on Twitter at @bystellayu_tnsn.