{"id":253098,"date":"2021-09-14T16:36:46","date_gmt":"2021-09-14T21:36:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=253098"},"modified":"2021-09-14T19:54:05","modified_gmt":"2021-09-15T00:54:05","slug":"tennessee-down-syndrome-abortion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/tennessee-down-syndrome-abortion\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal appeals court nixes Tennessee’s protections for preborn babies with Down syndrome"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A federal appeals court ruled Friday that Tennessee could not enforce an abortion restriction that prohibits abortions based on race, gender, or a Down syndrome diagnosis. The court also upheld a prior ruling that prohibited the state from enforcing its version of a “heartbeat bill,” which prohibits abortion after a preborn child’s heartbeat is detected, usually around six weeks gestation (four weeks post-fertilization),\u00a0though the heart begins beating between just 16 and 22 days post-fertilization.<\/p>\n

The laws were both part of pro-life legislation<\/a> signed by Governor Bill Lee last year. Almost immediately after it was signed,\u00a0U.S. District Judge William Campbell issued a temporary restraining order which blocked many of the bill’s provisions, most notably its ban on abortions after a heartbeat. He also initially blocked the portion of the law that prevented abortions based on age, race, or disability. However, in November 2020<\/a>\u00a0the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals said the state could<\/em> enforce the portion of the law that prohibits abortions due to a diagnosis of Down syndrome while the courts continued to hear the case. With Friday’s ruling, the state once again is not able to prevent these discriminatory abortions.<\/p>\n

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