NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Gov. Bill Lee has signed a Republican-sponsored bill into law codifying the right to in vitro fertilization (IVF) and contraceptives in Tennessee, despite 11 House Republicans urging him to veto the measure in a letter.
The “Fertility Treatment and Contraceptive Protection Act,” sponsored by Rep. Iris Rudder (R-Winchester) and Sen. Becky Massey (R-Knoxville), unanimously passed the Senate, but Republicans were divided on the issue in the House.
“To me, this bill is about life,” Rep. Rudder said. “It brings life into the world. It gives families the right to access IVF. It gives families the opportunity to plan their families through contraceptives.”
However, some House Republicans argued women already have the right to IVF and contraceptives in the state, making the bill “unnecessary.”
“This bill is a solution in search of a problem with serious, negative consequences,” Rep. Chris Todd (R-Madison County) said.
Others said the bill conflicts with state law and alluded they believe it’s anti-life.
“We already encode [in state law] on the one hand, that an embryo is a person; it’s an unborn child, yet this bill creates a statutory right to create and destroy human embryos without limitation of any kind, just wantonly,” Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) said.
“I think as you listen to some of the discussion on the House floor this morning, maybe you can understand why this is a very important bill to codify into law the rights of women to continue to access IVF and contraceptives,” Rep. Rudder said. “This bill has nothing to do with what has been discussed on this floor this morning, other than to codify into law that the women in the state of Tennessee will continue to have the right to access IVF and contraceptives.”
The bill passed the House, with 37 Republicans voting against it.
In response, 11 House Republicans wrote a letter to Gov. Bill Lee, imploring him to veto the measure.
“If we, as a government, authorize the slaughter of even one innocent life, God will judge us collectively,” the letter reads. “The power to save lies in your hands.”
The letter, sent by Rep. Chris Todd (R-Madison County), also signed by Rep. Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka), Rep. Jody Barrett (R-Dickson), Rep. Monty Fritts (R-Kingston), Rep Michele Reneau (R-Signal Mountain), Rep. Timothy Hill (R-Blountville), Rep. Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill), Rep. Aron Maberry (R-Clarksville), Rep. Kip Capley (R-Summertown), Rep. Brock Martin (R-Huntington), and Rep. Ed Butler (R-Rickman), argued the “morning after pill” could be considered an abortion pill because it could prevent implantation of a fertilized egg, a notion that’s been disproven by multiple medical studies.
In addition, lawmakers wrote in the letter IVF clinics destroy the “fertilized eggs that the couple does not use,” which is “a type of abortion” and “an act of intentionally terminating human life that should not be provided legal cover.”
The letter goes on to state IVF can result in “too many pregnancies at once,” posing a health risk to the mother and her babies, and requiring a surgery to remove some of the babies. Lawmakers called this “selective abortion.”
Gov. Lee was not asked about the letter, but he told reporters on Tuesday he believes he knows what he’ll do once the bill reaches his desk.
“Until I read it, I can’t definitively comment on it, but the basis of my understanding of what it is, I plan to sign that bill,” Gov. Lee said.
On Thursday, a spokesperson for the governor’s office confirmed that Gov. Lee had signed the bill.
The bill became law upon receiving his signature.
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