KNOXVILLE, Tenn — The Knoxville Center for Reproductive Health announced it has suspended all abortion services after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday.
The center was among the last remaining medication abortion providers in Knoxville alongside Planned Parenthood on Cherry Street after someone set fire to it on Dec. 31. Authorities are still searching for the arsonist.
KCRH was also the only provider of in-clinic abortions in the city, which the Planned Parenthood location did not offer.
"Due to the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, we will be suspending all abortion services at Knoxville Center for Reproductive Health (KCRH) while we assess the continued legality of abortion in Tennessee," the center said. "All abortion appointments will be canceled until further notice. If you received an abortion at KCRH prior to June 24, 2022, please attend your follow-up appointment as scheduled. You can still reach a nurse if you are a recent patient."
The Fort Sanders center also provides other services such as family planning counseling, birth control, and emergency contraceptives such as the morning-after pill. These services have not been impacted by the Supreme Court decision.
Currently, abortions are still legal in Tennessee -- but a strict abortion ban will go into effect across the state on July 24. Tennessee lawmakers passed a "trigger law" in 2019 that makes it a felony to provide abortion services in the state but the law has a waiting period built into it that prevents it from taking effect until 30 days after the Supreme Court decision.
Lawmakers don't want to wait the full 30 days. Tennessee's Attorney General Herbert Slatery on Friday asked the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to allow the state to ban abortions immediately by appealing an ongoing lawsuit over a different fetal heartbeat abortion ban signed into law by Governor Bill Lee in 2020.
Even though the heartbeat law is redundant with the statewide ban on abortions, it also contained a 30-day waiting period. By challenging that aspect, Slatery is hoping to fast-track the statewide ban as soon as possible.
However, the ACLU might be able to hold up the state's appeal to allow the full 30-day waiting period by dismissing its lawsuit. The ACLU responded Monday and asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit -- saying the case is now moot because of the reversal of Roe v. Wade. The state was given a deadline of 5 p.m. Monday to respond.