March 3, 2006: Attack on Women's Right to Choose in TN - Tell Your Senators to Vote NO on SJR127

Dear Friends,

SJR127, the dangerous constitutional amendment which would amend the
Tennessee Constitution and remove the right to abortion, is scheduled for
its second reading on the Senate Floor on Monday night, March 6. Supporters of the constitutional amendment hope for the third and final reading of SJR127 on Thursday. March 9. It is vital that pro-choice and pro-privacy folks begin calling their elected officials now and tell them to vote
against SJR127.

This lengthy alert includes lots of information that we urge you to share
with your friends and family and to use as you urge your state senator and
house representative to vote NO on SJR127. Contact information for your
state senator and house representative can be found at www.congress.org by entering your zip code and clicking the "state" option.

WHAT SJR127 DOES - SJR127 has many sponsors in the Senate and House. While supporters of the resolution - who are on record as anti-choice - say the resolution does not affect access to abortion, they are being disingenuous. Were Roe v. Wade to be overturned, and our State Constitution amended, women in Tennessee would not be protected under the current state constitutional right to privacy that ensures a woman can obtain an abortion. That means that this amendment is paving the way for abortion to be outlawed in this state; were Roe overturned, and our State Constitution amended, the State Legislature could pass a bill outlawing abortion and women seeking abortion would no longer be protected by the privacy right in the State Constitution and we would not be able to pursue a successful challenge to the ban in state court. With the addition of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito to the U. S. Supreme Court, there is a very real movement afoot to have the Supreme Court reconsider Roe. South Dakota, Mississippi, and other states are currently passing legislation to outlaw abortions except to save the life of the woman.

PROCEDURE AND TIMING - If SJR127 were to pass the Senate on its third
reading, it will then be considered by the House - in at least two committees and on the House Floor. If the resolution passes both the Senate and House Chambers during this (104th) TGA session, it would be reintroduced during the 105th TGA where it would have to pass by a super-majority (2/3) vote in each chamber either during 2007 or 2008. Were it to pass by a super-majority during the 105th TGA, SJR127 would be placed on the state-wide ballot in 2010.

BACKGROUND - The introduction of this amendment is the result of the
ACLU/Planned Parenthood victory in the Tennessee Supreme Court. We
successfully challenged several restrictive provisions in the Tennessee
Abortion Statute. In September 2000, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that several provisions were unconstitutional and that the Tennessee Constitution afforded women a right to privacy regarding their right to seek an abortion. The decision is momentous because it reaffirms the right to privacy found in the Tennessee Constitution.

ACTION - It is VITAL that State Senators and House Representatives begin to hear from pro-choice and pro-privacy people ASAP. SJR127 is an all-out
attack on the women of Tennessee and seeks to rob women of their right to
make choices about their own health, safety and personal welfare. We cannot stand by and allow our State Constitution to be amended in a way that takes away women's right to privacy, to control their own bodies, and to reproductive freedom. If you are a member of an organization that might lend its name to fighting this amendment, please notify me. Currently ACLU-TN, Planned Parenthood, NOW, and the Women's Political Caucus are actively lobbying against this dangerous constitutional amendment.

Typically, the anti-choice supporters outnumber pro-choice supporters by a
large margin at public events and at the legislature. We must all do a
better job of mobilizing pro-choice support if we are to overcome the very
well-organized and well-executed efforts of the anti-choice folks. Now is
the time to let our voices be heard and our faces be seen by legislators who
seek to rob women of reproductive rights in Tennessee!

We need a strong, unified effort to ensure that SJR127 does not pass the
Tennessee General Assembly.

Please forward this email message to as many people as you know you might take action!
Many thanks,
Hedy Weinberg, Executive Director