The 99th General Assembly of Tennessee, in passing its version of "Partial Birth Abortion" legislation, has joined the bandwagon of state legislatures and Congress. It is my understanding that this medical procedure is not available in Tennessee. So our legislature spent a great deal of time and money developing a bill that currently does not affect the delivery of health care within Tennessee.
As our reproductive freedom is slowly eroded by each bill that further limits a woman's choices, we win some battles but we could lose the war for our daughters and granddaughters. The constant guerrilla warfare drains our resources. Each session of the legislature brings a series of bills that are meant to limit an individual's freedom of choice. Many never make it out of committee, but the amount of time and effort that must be spent to contain these bills could be better expended to provide resources that would limit unwanted pregnancies or medically necessary abortions.
An ideal world would not have to face this issue, but in our current society there is a need to have available many options for women's quality health care. As individuals, we may not always like the choices made by others, but do we have the right to limit another's health care choices?
Last Modified October 26, 1997