Tennessee Legislative Powers Regarding Abortion, Amendment 1 (2014)

Amendment 1 Click here for the latest news on U.S. ballot measures Quick stats Type: Constitutional amendment Constitution: Tennessee Constitution Referred by: Tennessee State Legislature Topic: Abortion Status: Approved a

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The Tennessee Legislative Powers Regarding Abortion, Amendment 1 was on the November 4, 2014 ballot in the state of Tennessee as a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment, where it was approved.

The measure added language to the Tennessee Constitution empowering the legislature to enact, amend or repeal state statutes regarding abortion, including for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to protect the mother's life.

Amendment 1 was placed on the ballot by the Tennessee General Assembly in two separate votes. It was sponsored by U.S. Rep. Diane Black (R-6), who was a state senator at the time of introduction, and State Sen. Mae Beavers (R-17) as Senate Joint Resolution 127.

In Tennessee, a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment must earn a majority of those voting on the amendment and "a majority of all the citizens of the state voting for governor.”

Election results

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This ballot measure article has preliminary election results. Certified election results will be added as soon as they are made available by the state or county election office. The following totals are as of 100 percent of precincts reporting.

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Tennessee Amendment 1
Result		Votes	Percentage
a Yes		728751	52.61%
No		656427	47.39%

Election results via: Tennessee Secretary of State Office

Text of measure

Ballot title

The official ballot text was as follows:

“

Shall Article I, of the Constitution of Tennessee be amended by adding the following language as a new, appropriately designated section: 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, but not limited to, circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the mother. □ Yes □ No

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article I, Tennessee Constitution

The ballot measure added a new section to Article I of the Constitution of Tennessee:

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, but not limited to, circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the mother.

Fiscal note

The fiscal note developed by the Tennessee General Assembly Fiscal Review Committee was as follows:

“

ESTIMATED FISCAL IMPACT: NOT SIGNIFICANT Assumptions: • Notice of this resolution has already been published. • The county election commission is currently required to publish the ballot. Any cost to add this one item to the ballot will be not significant and can be handled within existing budgetary resources.

”

Background

Planned Parenthood v. Sundquist

Amendment 1 supporters took issue with the Tennessee Supreme Court's 2000 ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Sundquist. The court's ruling struck down multiple laws regulating abortion services, including:

• Requirement that second-trimester abortions be performed in hospitals as opposed to clinics.
• 48-hour waiting period before receiving an abortion requirement.
• Requirement of physician-only counseling before an abortion is performed.
• Exemption to requirements only in circumstances where a woman’s life is threatened.
• Mandate to prove residency.

Supporters of Amendment 1 believed the measure would allow the legislature to enact whatever regulations and restrictions are permitted by the United States Supreme Court. As Sen. Mae Beavers said, "[The amendment] is meant to neutralize the 2000 Supreme Court decision." Some proponents interpreted the Planned Parenthood v. Sundquist ruling as stating that the Tennessee Constitution contained a stronger right to privacy and abortion than even the U.S. Constitution.

The court said the ruling was informed by both the state and federal constitutions:

“

Accordingly, we must determine whether the scope of the right of procreational autonomy is broader than the analogous right of reproductive freedom protected by the United States Constitution. The Tennessee Supreme Court has already noted that these rights spring from common constitutional roots -- the concept of liberty reflected in the state and federal constitutions... The United States Supreme Court’s “reproductive rights” decisions are not binding on this court in this case because the challenge to Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-15- 201, -202 is based on the Constitution of Tennessee... They can, however, provide helpful guidance for our decision… we should favor a construction of the Constitution of Tennessee that is harmonious with analogous provisions in the United States Constitution.

”

Statistics

The following data relates to abortions performed in 2010:

• 16,373 abortions were performed in Tennessee in 2010. This was a six percent decrease from a decade earlier.
• In 2010, 24.5 percent, or roughly one-in-four, abortions were sought by women from other states. This was a 30 percent increase from a decade earlier.
• The age group most likely to seek an abortion was 10-14. However, this does not mean that this age group had the most abortions, just that the group had the most abortions relative to live births.
• The age group with the most abortions, through not the most relative to live births, was 20-24.
• 47.9 percent of all abortions were performed on white patients. 73.8 percent of the total state population is white.
• 52.1 percent of all abortions were performed on non-white patients. 26.2 percent of the total state population is non-white.

Support

The campaign in support of the initiative was led by Yes On 1.

The measure was introduced into the legislature by US Rep. Diane Black (R-6), who was a state senator at the time, in 2009 and by Sen. Mae Beavers (R-17) in 2013.

Supporters

Officials

• Gov. Bill Haslam (R)
• Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey (R)
• US Sen. Lamar Alexander (R)
• Sen. Mae Beavers (R-17)
• Sen. Jim Tracy (R-14)
• Rep. Andy Holt (R-76)
• Rep. Beth Harwell (R-56)
• Rep. Bill Dunn (R-16)
• Rep. Roger Kane (R-89)
• Hamilton County Commission
• Putnam County Commission

Former officials

• Former Sen. David Fowler (R-11)

Organizations

• Tennessee Right to Life

Individuals

• Alveda King
• Jim Bob Duggar
• Bishop Richard F. Stika of the Diocese of Knoxville
• Donald Miller, Christian author

Arguments

A Yes on 1 Tennessee ad, titled "Welcome to Tennessee: Your Abortion Destination."

Dan McConchie, VP of Government Affairs at Americans United for Life, called Amendment 1 "one of the most important ballot measures in the country" and said it would "protect women and children..." The following is an excerpt from an opinion article he wrote for The Tennessean:

“	Voters will decide whether to take back control of the abortion issue or leave it in the hands of unelected state judges... This is necessary due to the most egregious Tennessee Supreme Court decision on the issue of abortion in U.S. history that has made Tennessee an outlier in the effort to protect women and children from industry overreach and abuse. For those thinking that a state constitutional amendment may be overkill, in fact its need comes from the state court itself. In his dissent in Sundquist, then-Justice William Barker noted that the only way to allow the people to again, through their elected representatives, re-establish common-sense standards for abortion in Tennessee was for a constitutional amendment... What the Tennessee Supreme Court did in Sundquist was to eliminate the ability of the people to place virtually any common-sense limits on abortion. In doing so, the court essentially declared that abortion can only be properly exercised when it is almost completely unfettered, resulting in an abortion industry free to exploit women in virtually any way it wants. Given this, it is clear that the opponents of Amendment 1 are not really defenders of women; they are defenders of an industry that profits off women.	”
—Dan McConchie

Other arguments in support of the amendment included:

• Leslie Hunse, the education director for Tennessee Right to Life, argued, “We want our constitution to go back to neutral on the issue of abortion, so we can pass some common sense regulations to protect mothers and children. We are here because there are women who call us everyday who are sad about the abortions that they've had.”

Campaign contributions

Total campaign cash as of October 30, 2014
Support:	$1,686,741
Opposition:	$4,254,862

As of October 30, 2014, supporters had received $1,686,741 in contributions.

PAC info:

PAC	Amount raised	Amount spent
Yes on 1	$1,664,236	$1,441,332
FACT for 1	$13,544	$0
Family Action for 1	$8,961	$0
Tennesseans for Yes on 1	$0	$0
Total	$1,686,741	$1,441,332

Top contributors:

Donor	Amount
James Gregory	$200,025
Karen Brukardt	$25,000
Wiley Russell, Jr.	$25,000
Willis J. Johnson	$25,000
Curt Sheldon	$19,754
Grace Chapel Inc.	$15,776
National Right to Life PAC	$15,000
Yes on 1, Inc.	$15,000
Tennessee Right to Life Knox County	$13,650

Tactics and strategies

Run for 1 Life

On June 28, 2014, supporters held a 5 kilometer walk and run in Murfreesboro to support Amendment 1. Known as "Run for 1 Life," all proceeds from the run went to Vote Yes Tennessee. The purpose of the event was to:

“	[S]pread the word about pro-life legislation and serve as a fundraising platform to put these laws in place. While there is a time and place for debate, it is often felt that too much talking and too little doing goes on around common sense issues. We’re using fun, positive energy like walking and running to pass legislation that will guarantee our children, and grandchildren’s most basic God-given right is protected – the right to life!	”
—Run for 1 Life

The run was sponsored by Family Action of Tennessee, Tennessee Right to Life, Joe Carr for US Senate, Jim Tracy for Congress, Rick Peppers for State Representative, Wil-Ro, Inc., Smoothie King and Chick-fil-A of Smyrna. The event was directed by Tim Hooper.

Don't vote for governor

Truth On 1, an organization supporting Amendment 1, encouraged voters to forgo voting in the state's gubernatorial election to "double" their votes on Amendment 1. They did so because the Tennessee Constitution, at the time of the amendment's approval, required that a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment must earn a majority of those voting on the amendment and "a majority of all the citizens of the state voting for governor." Therefore, someone who voted on Amendment 1, but not in the gubernatorial election, increased the likelihood of the amendment being approved. Truth On 1's statement read:

A Truth On 1 ad, titled "Double Your Vote on Amendment 1."

“

If you vote Yes on Amendment 1, but don't vote in the governor's race, then you actually double the impact of your vote. Don't vote for governor this election cycle. The reason behind it is a little known law in the Tennessee Constitution that says for a Constitutional Amendment to pass, it must receive 1 more vote than half the number of votes cast in the governor's race. For example... If a 1,000,000 people vote in the governor's race (it doesn't matter which candidate they vote for), then Yes on 1 needs 500,001 votes to pass. It doesn't matter if 400,000 people vote for Amendment 1 and only 3 vote against it; it will still fail since it doesn't have one more than the total in the governor's race. I know, it sounds crazy. It doesn't matter, it's the law. What does it mean for us? Vote Yes for Amendment 1, but don't vote in the governor's race. The less people who vote for the governor means it takes less votes to pass the threshold set by the State Constitution. In other words, if you vote yes on 1 but abstain from the governor's race, you'll double your vote.

”

Campaign advertisements

See also: Tennessee Amendment 1 (2014) campaign advertisements

All campaign advertisements for campaigns in favor of the measure can be found here.

Opposition

Vote NO on One Tennessee, Inc. led the campaign against the amendment.

Lisa Carter, a political strategist, was hired by the Tennessee Democratic Party to aid their campaign against Amendment 1.

Opponents

Officials

• Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-13)

Former officials

• Former Sen. Roy Herron (D-24)

Organizations

• Democratic Party of Tennessee
• Planned Parenthood
• American Civil Liberties Union
• Tennesseans for Preservation of Personal Privacy
• SisterReach

Individuals

• Rev. Adam Kelchner of Belmont United Methodist Church
• Rabbi Micah Greenstein of Temple Israel
• Rev. Rosalyn Nichols of Freedom's Chapel Christian Church
• Rachel Held Evans, Christian author

Arguments

A Vote No on One Tennessee ad, titled "Dr. Thompson."

Vote NO on One Tennessee, the organization leading the campaign against Amendment 1, argued the following on the group's website:

“	Amendment 1 is carefully worded in order to deliberately confuse voters about the real intention and motives of those behind the amendment. The people and organizations supporting Amendment 1 have clearly said that they believe all abortion should be illegal, no matter what. When many people read the Amendment, they believe that there will be guaranteed exceptions for women who are victims of rape or incest, or when a woman’s health is in danger. In simple terms, Amendment 1 says two things: There is absolutely no right to abortion, and Politicians can pass laws for exceptions in case of rape or incest, or when a woman’s life is in danger, if they choose to. There is no requirement that they do so. There is not even an exception for extreme cases like when a pregnant women needs treatment for cancer.	”
—Vote NO on One Tennessee, Inc.

David Harper, an executive official for the state’s Democratic Party, said:

“	What it does—the bill is written very deceptively. And the bill effectively turns over all rights to the state legislature. If you look at that bill and look at what it says, it says exactly that. And the way it’s written is very hard to ascertain what it’s about. It’s not only about the abortion… there’s a real distinct difference between the right to birth and the right to life. So we are opposed to that bill in every way. And the reason for that is just simply, we trust people to have good judgments for themselves and we do not think that the state legislature should be the one making those decisions. They’re very personal and they’re very private. And we respect people to have their own judgments. Now we don’t necessarily agree with them—but we respect them, and we do not think that we should turn that over to the government.	”
—David Harper

A Vote No on One Tennessee ad, titled "Clergy."

Rev. Adam Kelchner, pastor at Belmont United Methodist Church, criticized the amendment, saying:

“	We should turn our hearts and our resources to empowering young people with the education and tools necessary to experience the sacred gift of sexuality with health and wholeness. We should value the rights of women and families to follow their conscience when making important decisions about reproductive health care with health-care professionals. We should work to ensure greater dignity and equity for all Tennesseans. The ballot initiative in November rejects a compassionate and just approach to abortion care and reproductive health. That is why I’ll be voting no on the initiative.	”
—Rev. Adam Kelchner

Other arguments against the amendment included:

• Former Sen. Roy Herron (D-24) critiqued pro-amendment advocates, saying, "Their pitch is that this would make the constitution neutral on abortion. How would they like the Constitution neutral on the Second Amendment so legislators could outlaw the right to bear arms? How about making the First Amendment neutral?"
• Rebecca Terrell, director of the Choices abortion clinic in Memphis, said, "This is the national line in the sand." In 2014, Alabama, Kentucky and Mississippi abortion clinics were more limited in number than in Tennessee. Therefore, women seeking abortions would come to Tennessee, where there were less restrictions. Terrell argued, "Here we stand with this really strong constitution which is protecting women’s rights and access to needed services. If that fails here, where else are women going to go? The bottom line is they don’t want women to have access to abortion here — or anywhere in the South."
• Rabbi Micah Greenstein of Temple Israel asked, "Who decides what's best for a woman's health? A rape victim and her minister, or a religious zealot who would impose his will on all Tennessee women and families? Who decides what's best for a woman's health? Some political candidate or the female cancer patient herself in consultation with her doctor and priest?"

Campaign contributions

As of October 30, 2014, opponents had received $4,254,862 in contributions.

PAC info:

PAC	Amount raised	Amount spent
Vote No on One Tennessee, Inc.	$4,238,831	$3,781,389
Tennessee Students Voting No on 1	$13,931	$13,647
Women Matter - Northwest Tennessee	$2,100	$1,926
Total	$4,254,862	$3,796,962

Top contributors:

Donor	Amount
Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest	$800,000
Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties/PPOSBC Action Fund	$275,000
Planned Parenthood Pacific Northwest	$250,000
Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee	$239,500
Planned Parenthood Northern California Action Fund	$201,200
Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts	$200,000
American Civil Liberties Union	$135,000
Planned Parenthood Advocates Mar Monte	$50,000

Campaign advertisements

See also: Tennessee Amendment 1 (2014) campaign advertisements

All campaign advertisements for campaigns in opposition to the measure can be found here.

Media editorial positions

See also: Endorsements of Tennessee ballot measures, 2014

Opposition

• The Tennessean said, "Making any type of law immune from a court challenge is shortsighted, prejudicial — and in the case of what should be a woman's own decision about her health — downright dangerous. For those reasons, The Tennessean recommends a vote of NO on Amendment 1."

Polls

See also: Polls, 2014 ballot measures

Tennessee Amendment 1 (2014)
Poll	Favor	Oppose	Undecided	Margin of Error	Sample Size
Vanderbilt University 4/28/2014 - 5/18/2014	23%	71%	6%	+/-3.4	1,505
Remington Research 9/24/2014 - 9/25/2014	50%	22%	28%	+/-4.0	600
Middle Tennessee State University 10/22/2014 - 10/26/2014	39%	32%	29%	+/-4.0	600
AVERAGES	37.33%	41.67%	21%	+/-3.8	901.67
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Controversies

Tennessee Taliban Amendment

Tennesseans For Preservation Of Personal Privacy put out the above ad. The image is only part of the ad. The full ad can be seen here.

Tennesseans for Preservation of Personal Privacy, a pro-choice organization, purchased full-page or nearly full-page ad slots in the state's four largest newspapers. The Tennessean and the Memphis Commercial Appeal declined to publish the image accompanying the ad. The Knoxville News Sentinel and The Chattanooga Times Free Press published the image alongside the ad. The ad's image depicts a man whose head and face are mostly covered by a turban. The turban reads, "Tennessee Legislature." He is holding a scroll, which states, "Amendment #1." He is standing on a woman whose hair says, "Tennessee Women."

The ad was heavily criticized by pro-life and other pro-choice organizations, as well as civil rights groups.

Jennifer Hicks of Yes On 1, the amendment's supporting campaign organization, stated, "It is unfortunate that pro-abortion opponents of Amendment 1 have chosen to open their campaign in such an offensive manner. Taliban rule relates to rape, slavery, murder and brutal degradation of women, not to social policy debates in the state of Tennessee. Those placing the ad should apologize to Tennesseans but especially to those refugees in our state who have been the victims of such cruel regimes." Barbara Moss, treasurer of the group putting out the ad, replied to such criticisms. She argued, "The people that formed this group felt like it was an attempt to control the bodies of women. So that's where they came from with the Taliban part of it."

Jeff Teague, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee, said, "I think the images are disturbing and offensive, and they don’t have any place in this debate." Abby Ohlheiser, journalist for The Wire, criticized the ad. She said, "The amendment, essentially, would give the legislature the ability to pass laws restricting abortion despite those protections. It should go without saying, but the negative effect this measure could have on abortion rights in the state is hardly comparable to what the Taliban actually does."

Remziya Suleyman, Director of Policy and Administration for The American Center for Outreach, contended, “Comparing the Tennessee legislature to the Taliban is absurd. What they don’t realize is the image is offensive, unnecessary and violent. If we care about women, why use such scare tactics and demeaning images to get your message across?” The American Center for Outreach is an educational and advocacy organization for Muslims based in Tennessee. Michel Kaplan, an attorney representing Tennesseans for Preservation of Personal Privacy, replied to Suleyman, saying, "No offense was ever intended to the Muslim community. The cartoon was the expression of the Taliban and Taliban’s treatment of women, and the fear that there are those in the legislature who would like to control women’s rights." Barbara Moss further commented, "Before I would sign off on it, I contacted a dear friend of mine who's a Muslim to ask her if she would be offended and she said no... That could be a Christian man. Anybody who's been to the Middle East — Arab culture, Middle Eastern culture, everyone wears a turban. For goodness' sake, I mean the Sikh community wears turbans. So, I think for me it's that the image itself is depicting men, whether you're Muslim, Sikh, Christian, any man in a turban is equated with violence against women."

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Tennessee Constitution

The Tennessee General Assembly was required to approve the amendment in two successive sessions. In the first session, the measure required a simple majority for approval. In the second session, the proposed amendment needed to earn a two-thirds vote for approval.

During the first session, SJR 127 was approved by the Tennessee Senate on March 23, 2009. The amendment was approved by the Tennessee House of Representatives on May 23, 2009. During the second session, SJR 127 was approved by the Tennessee Senate on April 18, 2011. The amendment was approved as well by the Tennessee House of Representatives on May 20, 2011.

Senate vote (1st Session)

March 23, 2009

Tennessee SJR 127 Senate Vote
Result		Votes	Percentage
a Yes		24	75.00%
No		8	25.00%

House vote (1st Session)

May 18, 2009

Tennessee SJR 127 House Vote
Result		Votes	Percentage
a Yes		76	77.55%
No		22	22.45%

Senate vote (2nd Session)

April 18, 2011

Tennessee SJR 127 Senate Vote
Result		Votes	Percentage
a Yes		24	75.00%
No		8	25.00%

House vote (2nd Session)

May 20, 2011

Tennessee SJR 127 House Vote
Result		Votes	Percentage
a Yes		76	80.95%
No		18	19.15%

See also

Suggest a link

• Tennessee 2014 ballot measures
• 2014 ballot measures
• Tennessee Legislature

External links

Basic information

• Senate Joint Resolution 0127
• The Tennessean's Database: Tennessee Abortion Statistics
• Guttmacher Institute's "State Facts About Abortion: Tennessee"

Support

• Yes On 1
• Yes On 1 Facebook
• Yes On 1 Twitter

Opposition

• Vote No On One Tennessee, Inc.
• Vote No on 1 Tennessee Facebook
• ACLU’s “I Stand for Reproductive Freedom in Tennessee” Petition

Additional reading

• Washington Post, "Tennessee’s abortion referendum could bring in millions," July 14, 2014