1y ago

Tennessee Republican files 'abortion trafficking' bill for pregnant minors

www.tennessean.com

A Tennessee Republican hopes to establish an "abortion trafficking" felony for adults who help pregnant minors get an out-of-state abortion without parental permission, an effort reproductive health advocates argue will run afoul of constitutional rights such as interstate travel.

Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, filed House Bill 1895 on Monday. The legislation would establish a new Class C felony, which could carry three to 15 years in prison, for an adult that "recruits, harbors or transports" a pregnant minor for the purposes of receiving an out-of-state abortion or for getting abortion medication.

80 comments

Reminder that the Civil War wasn't because Lincoln was going to outlaw slavery.
He repeatedly said he had no desire to do that.
The flashpoint was the southern states wanted to force northern states to return escaped slaves, and the feds said a state couldn't force another state to follow their state laws.
And we're still having the same argument apparently.
Conservative states have always wanted to force their laws on liberal states. Because they see their state residents as property/serfs that the ruling conservatives control.
- Yeah, there was only one right that was in question. The average confederate soldier was there because he wanted to protect the white mans ability to own slaves because he thought he was going to get rich doing it once the war was over.
  
  Nope.
  The majority of soldiers for the south were lied to and genuinely believed they were fighting for states rights.
  They didn't know they were fighting for a more powerful federal government that would have the ability to force some states to follow the laws of other states.
  Ironically the civil war was the final push that made the feds do what the south wanted to begin with. It's just the feds sided with northern states not southern states.
- The South believed that Lincoln was going to outlaw slavery. Even if your claim is that true that Lincoln didn’t want to, you must remember that “perspective is reality”.
  
  No, the leaders of the South told the citizens of the South that was going to happen, and that they were on the side of "state rights"...
  Because that would get the most people to fight for them in a Civil War....
  When the two sides are saying two different things, why are you choosing to believe the traitors word over Lincolns?
  He explicitly said in in his inauguration speech that he wasn't going to outlaw slavery, and he kept saying it until the Civil War was halfway over...
  Why do you believe conservative lies from over a century ago?
  
  Shit, accidentally deleted when I meant to edit. My bad.
  Was going to add "halfway over" instead of over because Lincoln never mentioned outlawing slavery till the civil war was halfway over.
  But I don't get listening to the conservative lies over what was actually happening.
  Do you think 1/6 was Republicans trying to save an election from being stolen?
  That clearly wasn't what happened, but that's what conservatives claim.
  And you apparently want to believe anything they say
- I see your point, but to say that the Civil War wasn't about slavery is as stupid as holocaust deniers.
  
  From how I read the comment above yours, it doesn't imply the civil war wasn't about slavery.
  
  It's also factually incorrect, since the Feds specifically implemented a law mandating that Northern states return slaves.
- And, at the time, the Supreme Court agreed. In one of their most reviled and embarassing decisions. Let's watch them do it again and again now.
American citizens who reside in one state are not the property of that state and cannot be prohibited from traveling to other states. Case closed.
- With the current makeup of the SCOTUS, I am not holding my breath that the free commerce clause will apply to abortion.
Taking bets ....dude has a few minors he's raped and doesn't want to escape.
- The laundry list of Republican politicians who have CSAM on their PCs, have done shit to kids personally, or lured children online grows.
  
  Grows where, you ask? Well, we're up to page 49! https://www.dailykos.com/history/user/CajsaLilliehook
Illinois just enacted a law that prevents alpr companies from sharing data outside of the state in order to protect people coming into the state for abortion.
- Colorado did that over a year ago: https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/local-politics/polis-abortion-colorado-executive-order/73-dc981276-f6ec-4507-94cd-fee301fb80ba
Not being allowed to get your RAPED DAUGHTER life saving medical procedures is called FREEDOM and SAVING THE CHILDREN!
Taking a minor out of state without parental consent is already a crime in most states, no?
- It's ot about logic, it's about hiving police a reason to pull you over and search you without a warrant. Half the cars on the roads have at least one woman in them, which is now probable cause since you could be taking that woman to get an abortion.
  
  As the laws catch up with the times and we see the gradual legalization of marijuana, "do i smell weed?" is getting replaced by "is that a pregnant minor you're trafficking across state lines for an abortion?" Cops gotta continue to make their $ and harass innocent citizens somehow
May all the mothers and daughters of these Republicans be the first to suffer these new laws.
- This is about children. No child should suffer through pregnancy. I don't care what their politics are or what their parents' politics are.
- Just the ones who voted republican. There are plenty of innocent who can't afford to move/travel.
  
  Gotta crack some eggs to make an omelette.
Maybe let them get birth control without their parents' permission? They block that too
interstate travel has been a problem between states before roe fell
there are border like police agents at some borders already and have been for years
terry stops fully allowed with no need for suspicion of cause and some state borders are constansty watched for people crossing between states and this also applies to backroads
some of those backroads between states have been shut down since cannabis becoming legal in certain states became a thing
surprised there have not been more articles about this over the years
This is my home state, sadly. A bunch of backward religious zealots that were it not for secular institutions America would a mirror image of Saudi Arabia but Christian.
Clearly, the cons in these states think they OWN the people in them.
Remember just how much gaslighting the cons (and their tone-policing defenders in the "liberal media") did when it came to talking about the Gilead states and how that's not really a thing, don't worry, even the reddest of states will have freedoms.
Actually, from a legal standpoint, I think that they're on solid legal footing. I know that people may not want to hear that, but it is the truth.
You cannot take a minor across state lines to engage in an activity that is illegal in their home state, even if it is legal in the state they travel to. A 20 year old guy cannot, for example, take a 15 year old girl to a state where the age of consent is 14 in order to have sex with her. The same line of reasoning would apply here.
Now I'm not saying it's right by any stretch of the imagination. Applying this law under similar reasoning will do exponentially more harm than good for teenage girls in the state. But looking at it from a strictly legal standpoint, this law would be valid. Immoral, but valid.
- I'm gonna need a legal citation for this claim.
  You cannot take a minor across state lines to engage in an activity that is illegal in their home state, even if it is legal in the state they travel to.
  
  https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-2002-transportation-minors-18-usc-2423
  Section 2423(a) of Title 18 prohibits anyone from transporting any individual under the age of 18 years in interstate or foreign commerce with the intent that the minor engage in prostitution or any criminal sexual activity. It imposes a maximum 15 years' imprisonment and/or a fine under Title 18.
  That's the most on-point that discusses the issue. But try bringing a minor out drinking across state lines, or gambling, or any other illegal activity and see how quickly charges get tacked on for the involvement of a minor. Sex is one of the few cases where laws vary so greatly from state to state, and abortion is probably the next biggest thing now.
  If anyone has an example of where it's currently perfectly legal to bring a minor across state lines without parental consent to engage in an activity that is illegal in their home state, I'd love to hear it.

80 comments