Tennessee has a new law on the books guaranteeing access to in vitro fertilization and birth control, but conservative lawmakers could have the policy in their crosshairs in the upcoming legislative session.
Last year, the General Assembly passed House Bill 533. The Fertility Treatment and Contraceptive Protection Act does what it sounds like — codifies access to IVF and pregnancy prevention tools like intrauterine devices, birth control pills and emergency contraceptives like Plan B.
Study after study has shown that after state abortion bans go into effect, residents get confused about what reproductive care is still available.
“That instability erodes trust in the healthcare system itself and underscores why protective legislation like this is so necessary,” said Kelli Nowers, the executive director of advocacy nonprofit Awake Tennessee.
That’s why her organization supported the bill last year. And why it plans to continue defending it.
“We are preparing for significant backlash next session, which starts in about a month,” she said during a recent Guttmacher Institute briefing. “They made it clear that they see this law as something that needs to be reversed and/or weakened.”
She’s talking about critics in the general assembly. The measure flew under the radar during the committee process, but became divisive ahead of the last major votes — especially on the House floor.
Opponents raised several concerns about how the legislation would bind the hands of future lawmakers, who might want to address their concerns.
“It creates a statutory right to create and destroy human embryos without qualification, limitation or restriction,” said Rep. Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood. “It does not treat a human embryo as a person.”
He advocated for Tennessee to take an approach similar to Louisiana, which adopted a ban on the destruction of viable embryos in 2024. It was the first state to do so. It’s common practice to destroy unused embryos. Families have some leftover embryos once they’re done having kids. Or genetic testing can reveal some of the embryos have abnormalities– a concern that several lawmakers raised in the House Bill 0533 hearing. They called it discriminatory.
Other sticking points are related to certain kinds of birth control.
“We are creating, if we pass this bill, a right to use of the morning after pill,” said Rep. Jody Barrett, R-Dickson.
Many anti-abortion conservatives are opposed to emergency contraception like Plan B. The medication works by preventing ovulation, so an egg is not available for fertilization. It also hardens the walls of the uterus, making it difficult for a fertilized egg to attach. Failure to attach is common naturally, occurring about half the time.
But those who believe that life begins at fertilization view Plan B as an abortion drug.
“We are limiting and making it difficult for this body to go back later and address that specific issue,” Barrett said.
And that’s the point, according to supporters like Nowers.
“I am a proud IVF mom, and for families like mine, this legislation isn’t abstract,” she said. “It safeguards the very medical tools that allowed me and thousands of other Tennesseans to build our families. And it protects the contraceptive methods that people rely on to make informed decisions about their futures and lead dignified lives.”
The Tennessee General Assembly will reconvene at noon on January 13.
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM