Right-wing lawmakers in Tennessee and Oklahoma have introduced “abortion trafficking” bills that would criminalize helping pregnant minors access abortions out of state. These bills mirror Idaho’s “abortion trafficking” bill, which went into effect last year but was blocked by a federal court in November.
“Under these laws, an aunt or grandma who helps a teenager get an abortion would be a ‘trafficker,’” abortion advocate Jessica Valenti said on social media. “This is exactly the legal battle happening in Idaho right now over their ‘abortion trafficking’ law — it’s (deliberately) written so broadly that it makes speech illegal.”
Both Tennessee and Oklahoma currently prohibit abortion at all stages, with limited exceptions for medical emergencies; notably, these supposed exceptions have been shown to be ineffective due to providers’ fears of facing prosecution from the state. Not only have pregnant people experiencing medical emergencies been turned away from care in these states, but recently released research estimates that total abortion bans have resulted in 4,529 rape-related pregnancies in Oklahoma and 4,993 in Tennessee over the past 18 months. Advocates say that “abortion trafficking” bills exacerbate these issues and result in the increased criminalization of out-of-state abortions.
“I want to be clear: When I say these laws target anyone who ‘helps’ a teen get an abortion, I don’t just mean someone who physically takes them out of the state,” Valenti wrote for her column Abortion, Every Day. “You could be arrested for lending a teenager gas money, or texting them the url of an out-of-state clinic.”
Tennessee’s bill, SB 1971, criminalizes any adult who “recruits, harbors, or transports” a pregnant minor within the state to obtain a “criminal abortion,” a Class C felony punishable with 3-15 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines. This penalty applies to any out-of-state abortions, irrespective of the legality of abortions in that state, and doesn’t allow a minor’s consent to travel with the adult to obtain an abortion to be a defense to criminal liability.
“[I]nterstate travel and commerce are federally protected/only allowed to be changed by Congress, and this bill is designed to test the boundaries of what the courts will allow,” Rep. Aftyn Behn (D) said.
SB 1971 also criminalizes adults who assist minors in obtaining medication abortion pills and further would open the adult to civil lawsuits filed by the minor’s parents.
“Most minors involve a parent in their decision to get an abortion,” said Ashley Coffield, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi. “This bill makes criminals out of trusted adults, including other family members, who can help in these circumstances.”
Oklahoma’s bill, SB1778, would similarly criminalize adults who aid a minor in obtaining an abortion, even if abortions are legal in the state which they travel to, with 2-5 years imprisonment. The bill also states that the implementation of the law would be “immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health or safety.” Because of this “emergency,” the bill would take effect immediately after its passage.
“Targeting trusted adults, family members, and helpers who assist minors in accessing abortion will have a chilling effect and is dangerous and irresponsible,” Coffield said. “If you know a minor who miscarries, you’re a potential suspect.”
These two bills come as right-wing lawmakers across the country have introduced 317 bills restricting abortion since January 1, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
After the election, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy