Updated Tuesday at 10 a.m.
Planned Parenthood clinics in Tennessee have stopped providing abortions because of the legal uncertainty around state law. The clinics in Nashville and Memphis did not resume operations Monday as scheduled, even though the federal appeals court had not yet acted on the state’s 6-week abortion ban.
On Friday, Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi CEO Ashley Coffield said the clinics planned to perform all scheduled abortions this week and just not take any new patients. But for both legal and medical reasons, a Planned Parenthood spokesperson says the clinics decided to transition all patients out of state.
The last procedure was performed on Saturday.
The nonprofit is helping connect pregnant patients with providers in Illinois and Virginia and helping pay for travel costs if needed. And offering assistance from so-called “navigators” is the plan for the foreseeable future.
The other abortion clinic in the Nashville area, called Carafem in Mt. Juliet, *opened new appointments on Tuesday morning, according to spokesperson Olivia Trogisch. On Monday, schedulers at the office said there were no new abortion appointments because of the pending law change. The company also has been calling scheduled patients to get them in sooner.
“We’re ready to shift on a moment’s notice if legally necessary and will provide all clients with options outside of Tennessee once the restrictions are in place,” they say in an email to WPLN News.
The state is planning total ban on abortion, triggered by overturning Roe v. Wade, but it doesn’t go into effect until next month. Another law on the books that bans abortions at 6 weeks could be enforced at any time. The Tennessee attorney general has asked the 6th U.S. Circuit Court to make a decision as quickly as possible.
*Updated: This line has been updated since initial publication to reflect newly available appointments.
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