Tennessee lawmakers have decided about $1.1 million normally allocated for Planned Parenthood will now go to local health organizations.
Both houses of the Legislature overwhelmingly approved House Bill 1756, proposed by Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey and Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Brentwood, which removes a clause in existing law naming Planned Parenthood as the primary provider of family-planning services in the state.
The bill also adds language giving priority for funding to local community health centers. Planned Parenthood would be eligible for some of the money, but only after local organizations' needs are filled.
Tennessee Right to Life President Brian Harris praised legislators for their actions.
"Giving first priority to local health departments strengthens the provision of service to vulnerable populations," he noted, "without favoring an entity which has a significant financial interest in the success or failure of those services."
Passage of the bill caps a successful session for pro-life legislation in Tennessee. Lawmakers also passed SJR 127, a constitutional amendment restoring informed consent, a 48-hour waiting period and regulation of abortion clinics in the state.
"Tennessee is a strongly pro-life state and with new legislative leadership," Harris explained, "the General Assembly's actions are finally beginning to mirror that life-affirming point of view."
— Kim Trobee
