“I will say as chairman of (the TN Senate Health and Welfare Committee), I am getting some communications from totally different groups . . . that do think we probably should fine-tune the trigger bill somewhat to make sure that we don’t get our docs in trouble when they’re trying to follow the law.”
That was State Senator Rusty Crowe, talking in July about Tennessee’s impending total abortion ban, which he cosponsored in 2019 and that goes into effect this Thursday. It will immediately put women in physical danger and doctors in legal peril.
Apparently Rusty had gotten an earful from medical professionals, who are in his mind “totally different” from the people he’d been ignoring: women.
Uppity women in business suits. Smartypants women in college. Impertinent women with tattoos and nose rings. Older women who aren’t having anyone’s shenanigans. Weary but determined women who want better for their daughters.
Rusty was talking to a senate legislative panel about tweaking the abortion ban to protect “our docs” who could wind up in prison. Unless I missed it, Rusty didn’t express concerns about women who could wind up dead.
Such cavalier language about the trigger law is consistent with the TN GOP’s cavalier approach to lawmaking. The time to make sure your bill isn’t going to kill people is before you pass it. But who has time for due diligence when there are political points to be scored?
To Rusty’s credit, he was willing to acknowledge that the bill probably needed “fine-tuning” before it went into effect. All indications are his colleagues were not.
Women may not have their attention, but we have collective power. It’s time to get organized.
Allison
[email protected]
0 Comments