March 4, 2003: Protect Women's Right to Privacy - Oppose SJR127 set for Tuesday, April 8 - Call Senate Judiciary Committee Members

Dear Friends,

Next Tuesday, April 8, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on SJR127, which amends the State Constitution to add a new provision to Article 1 that states "Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects the right to abortion or funding thereof."

Action: Call your State Senator if he/she serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee and ask them to protect a woman's right to privacy under the Tennessee Constitution and vote NO on SJR127. Even if your Senator does not serve on the Committee we urge you to call him or her, explaining your concerns and asking your Senator to urge his or her colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee to vote NO. You can find out this contact information at http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/senate/members/smembers.htm#Find. If you don't know who your Senator is, go to www.congress.org and enter your zip code.

What This Means: If SJR 127 passes this session, the resolution would need to receive a 2/3 majority vote by both chambers the following legislative session in order to appear on the state ballot for 2006 elections. Were our State Constitution amended and were Roe v. Wade to be overturned, abortion could be made illegal in Tennessee.

Background: This anti-choice initiative is a result of the successful ACLU- Planned Parenthood lawsuit challenging the restrictive provisions in the state's abortion statute.

In September 2000, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that several provisions were unconstitutional and that abortion is a "fundamental right" under Tennessee's Constitution. The decision is momentous because it reaffirms the right to privacy found in the Tennessee Constitution. This was the first time that the State Supreme Court considered the issue of abortion under the Tennessee Constitution and held that it provided greater protection than the US Constitution.

Please make your calls on next Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning and ask your friends, family and colleagues to do the same.

Many thanks.
Hedy Weinberg, Executive Director