When It Comes To Abortion, Which Women’s Opinions Should Tennessee Lawmakers Heed?

As the state legislature prepares to vote on three new abortion regulations, opponents of the bills held a press conference Monday discussing why lawmakers should listen to women when it comes to abortion. 

Francie Hunt was one of several women with Planned Parenthood who shared stories about their own abortions and why they think more regulations are a bad idea.

“We don’t need a state-mandated 48-hour waiting period to help us make up our minds. We don’t need to be told we must look at an ultrasound of our pregnancy,” Hunt said, referring to two bills that were proposed this legislative session. 
“Women are the experts. We know what we need and what we don’t need.”

But this issue has not been lost on the opposing side either. In a subcommittee hearing last month, Rep. Rick Womick (R-Rockvale), who proposed the ultrasound bill, acknowledged he couldn’t speak with authority about the experience. 
So he brought up a woman, Myra Simons, to talk to lawmakers about her
 
abortion.

Unlike the women with Planned Parenthood, Simons supported
Womick’s regulation.

“I only knew that it was a quick fix,” Simons said, arguing that women need more information before getting an abortion. “I did not know the psychological journey and physical trauma that I was about to undergo.”

But Hunt said if even women can’t agree on abortion policy, then it shouldn’t be made into a law. 

The ultrasound bill didn’t make it out of committee, but lawmakers plan to vote on informed consent, mandatory waiting periods and the licensing of abortion clinics as soon as Tuesday.