MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Even in cases of rape or incest, a new Tennessee law could require abortion clinics or the woman to pay for the burial or cremation of fetal remains after a surgical abortion.
The bill passed in the Senate Tuesday and will become law if Gov. Bill Lee signs it. It's unclear if Lee will sign it, but he is known to be a staunch opponent of abortion.
Critics of the legislation, like Jennifer Pepper, the executive director of Choices-Memphis Center for Reproductive Health, said it's another attempt to close the doors of abortion providers.
"One of the things that you do to prevent people from accessing abortion if you can’t outlaw it, is that you put it out of reach financially for people," Pepper said.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Tim Rudd of Murfreesboro, said it has no effect on a woman's right to an abortion and only gives "dignity to aborted children."
"It’s not an abortion law at all. It’s post-abortion," Rudd said. "It has nothing to do with the abortion process."
Rudd said other Tennessee laws have stricter processes in place for deceased pets, so he believes a surgically aborted child's body should be treated with more respect.
"We have in Tennessee code strict rules on how to dispose of a pet or a farm animal that they have to be cremated or buried at certain feet," Rudd said. "You can’t throw them out in the trash, it’s illegal."
Pepper said her clinic already disposes of fetal remains with dignity and the measure just disguises what's really going on.
"Additional and unnecessary regulations involved in accessing healthcare just make that situation more complicated and harder for the patient than it needs to be," Pepper said.
At least 10 other states have this as law.