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Tennessee Senate Passes Uncompromising Pro-Life Amendment

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Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

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The Tennessee Senate has passed a constitutional amendment that could, if also passed by the state's House of Representatives, nullify a state Supreme Court ruling that claims that abortion is protected under the Tennessee constitution.

The amendment reads: "Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion. The people retain the right through their elected state representatives and state senators to enact, amend, or repeal statutes regarding abortion, including circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the mother."

The measure passed with support from both Republicans and Democrats, 23-9. Attempts to add rape and incest exceptions were defeated.

The measure has passed the Senate three times since the Tennessee Supreme Court issued a decision in the year 2000, claiming that the state constitution is more protective of abortion than the US Constitution.  That ruling got rid of the state's 48-hour waiting period for obtaining an abortion, and a requirement that abortion facilities provide information about the procedure to their customers. 

In each of the three previous cases, the state House of Representatives has failed to endorse the constitutional amendment. That hasn't stopped lawmakers from passing it a fourth time, however, in the hope that they might nullify the state judiciary's pro-abortion stance.  Like Roe v. Wade, the Tennessee ruling was based on a subjective interpretation of the state constitution, which never mentions abortion.

State Senator Diane Black, who sponsored the amendment, told the Associated Press that she is optimistic about its chances of ratification this year, given the broad support shown for the measure in the Senate. "I'm hoping that this year will be the year given the kind of bipartisan support we had today, and I think we will have that same support over in the House," said Black.

The amendment, should it be approved by the House, will have a long way to go before complete ratification. It would then have to be approved by the Senate and House by a two-thirds majority and be ratified by a plebiscite of all Tennessee voters, which could happen by 2010.

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    Joe DeVet, Houston

     

    A similar initiative, in the sense of being pro-life in its intent and somewhat speculative in its promise of success, was publicly left without support in Georgia recently by Bishops Gregory and Boland.  As I understand their refusal of support, it was on grounds that it was not consistent with constitutional law as presently interpreted, and would therefore not likely succeed.  Their refusal of support was thus based on purely secular grounds and on purely speculative and secular calculations of success.

     

    Would someone tell me why this is a logical position for the descendants of Jesus' apostles, who like our Founder persisted in telling the truth of the Kingdom without regard to "constitutional interpretations" or to a secular calculation of success?  In fact, they did succeed, but only because they cared not for success but only for truth.  

     

    Our bishops need to be reminded of a passage from CS Lewis in "Mere Christianity", where he says: aim for heaven and you will get earth thrown in with it; aim for earth and you will lose both! 

     

    I hope we do better in our public support of the Tennessee initiative. 

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