KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — On Tuesday, the Knoxville City Council voted on a resolution that calls on state lawmakers to step back on recent laws that make it a felony to provide abortion care. It passed.
The resolution cannot change any specific policies in the city. Instead, it is mostly a symbolic act to support women and affirm that city leaders want to protect obstetric and gynecological health care, "and that the people of Knoxville should have the freedom to legally access such health care services."
The resolution was requested by the majority of council members — Seema Singh, Amelia Parker, Gwen McKenzie, Lauren Rider, Lynne Fugate and Andrew Roberto.
Specifically, it calls for the state legislature to immediately decriminalize abortion care and to allow abortion care in cases of rape, incest, sex trafficking, situations when the fetus is not viable and to protect the life and health of a pregnant person.
The current law requires physicians to defend themselves in court and explain why they believe providing abortion care was necessary to save the life of a woman. Opponents of the law said it can endanger the life of a person since they may need to wait longer for emergency abortion treatments, as health experts and lawyers determine whether they can legally provide treatment.
The resolution also calls for state lawmakers to give all Tennesseans access to health care services including contraceptives. They also ask the legislators to ensure pregnant and parenting Tennesseans have access to the resources they need to raise healthy families. The resolution specifies those resources include paid family leave as well as pre-and-postpartum care.
A copy of the resolution will be sent to state legislators representing Knoxville.