Governor of Tennessee Bill Lee is smiling at the Conservative Political Activities Council (CPAC) in Dallas, Texas, USA on Saturday, July 10, 2021.
Dylan Hollingsworth | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Tennessee will soon strictly regulate the dispensing of abortion drugs under a law recently signed by Republican Governor Bill Lee. This includes imposing severe penalties on doctors who violate abortion medications.
The bill, signed by Lee Seung-yuop on Thursday, will come into effect on January 1, 2023.
This issue is even more important as the US Supreme Court appears ready to overturn the groundbreaking 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, as suggested through a recently leaked draft opinion. In particular, Tennessee is one of 13 states with so-called trigger laws that make abortion illegal if Roe capsizes.
To date, 19 states have imposed strict restrictions on access to drug-induced abortions. In the Tennessee version, mailing an abortion drug is illegal, and anyone who wants to use an abortion drug must see a doctor in advance and then return to receive the abortion drug.
The drug can only be dispensed by a qualified physician. This includes a pharmacist’s ban on pharmacy. Violators face class E felony and fines of up to $ 50,000.
However, according to abortion law experts, it remains an open question whether the state can restrict access to abortion drugs following the FDA’s decision.
Laura Helmer, a professor at Mitchell Hamline Law School in St. Paul, Minnesota, recently told The Associated Press.
No proceedings have been filed to challenge the newly enacted restrictions in Tennessee.
Face-to-face requirements, on the other hand, have long been opposed by medical societies, including the American Medical Association. He said this limitation would not bring a clear benefit to the patient.
The use of abortion drugs has increased in the United States since 2000, when the Food and Drug Administration approved mifepristone, the main drug used in abortion. According to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports the right to abortion, more than half of US abortions are now done with pills rather than surgery.
I need two medicines. The first mifepristone blocks the hormones needed to maintain pregnancy. The second drug, misoprostol, is taken 1-2 days later to empty the uterus. Both drugs are available as generics and are also used to treat other conditions.
