Abortion in Tennessee updates: Protesters call out Gov. Lee, Supreme Court Saturday

Reactions rippled across Tennessee as news of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade broke Friday morning.

Federal, state and local leaders immediately began weighing in while plans for protests and rallies were announced. The ruling was lauded by the state's Republican leadership as abortion rights activists and medical professionals decried the decision.

Follow along here for live updates as the day unfolds.

WHAT HAPPENS NOW: Here's what happens in Tennessee now that U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade

Group marches to the state capitol Saturday

Nearly 100 abortion rights protesters addressed Governor Bill Lee and the Supreme Court in a Saturday march to the state capitol building in response to the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

“Laws off me, Governor Lee” Jace Wilder, the march’s organizer chanted.

After the news broke yesterday, Lauren Oliver felt she couldn’t just sit back and not do anything.

“This is something that affects everyone,” Oliver, 22 said.

— Arcelia Martin, The Tennessean

Hundreds gather across state to protest abortion restrictions

In Middle Tennessee, several hundred people gathered at the Tennessee Legislative Plaza outside the state capitol building Friday evening.

Protesters were carrying signs and wearing green, which has become a symbol of the movement for the right to a safe and legal abortion.

The protest was organized by Planned Parenthood. Protesters were planning to march from the plaza to the Nashville Public Square Park.

Emily Kight, who moved to Nashville a few years ago and attended the protest Friday, said she regrets moving to the state.

“Had I known this would have happened, I wouldn’t have come to Vanderbilt. I wouldn’t have come to Tennessee,” she said.

In East Tennessee, hundreds of abortion rights protesters converged on downtown Knoxville's Krutch Park.

The Bans Off Our Bodies rally took over a popular park adjacent to Market Square and then turned into a march up and down Gay Street, which was blocked off for the USA Cycling Criterium Race.

"We just want to make our voices heard," said Rachel Smith, who attended the protest with a friend. "Not everyone in every red state agrees with the decisions being made."

Tory Mills, one of the organizers, led the crowd in song and a few chants, as well as a collective howl of rage that one participant called "a keening."

In Memphis, about 175 people gathered to protest at the one of the city's major intersections. Multiple cars cruised by with honking horns and passengers joining the chants of the protesters: "My Body. My Choice. SCOTUS doesn't have a voice."

— Kirsten Fiscus, The Tennessean, Liz Kellar, Knoxville News Sentinel, and Micaela Watts, Memphis Commercial Appeal

Nashville District Attorney says he won't prosecute those seeking or doctors performing abortions

Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk said in a news release Friday that he will not prosecute any woman who elects to have an abortion or any doctor who performs one at the request of patient.

"In 2014, the people of Davidson County elected me to enforce the laws while exercising discretion to promote the public good," Funk said. "I will use my constitutional powers to protect women, health providers and those making personal health decisions."

—  Adam Friedman, The Tennessean

Planned Planned Parenthood leader concerned about situations where the mother's life is at risk

Ashley Coffield, the CEO of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi, held a news conference Friday.

"I am heartbroken that our worse fear has become a reality," Coffield said.

As Coffield addressed media, a handful of anti-abortion activists remained outside of the building, their moods victorious.

Inside, Coffield laid into Tennessee lawmakers who have worked to steadily reduce access to abortion over the past two decades. Adjusting to changing legislation regarding abortion access has been a consistent feature of the work at Planned Parenthood.

"They bartered our bodies for votes," Coffield said.

Coffield isn't sure what lengths women will have to go through if there life is at risk. She specifically mentioned woman who deal with an ectopic pregnancy, where fertilization occurs outside of the uterus, which is a life-and-death situation due to the high risk of internal bleeding.

"I hope that we're able to take care of people in Tennessee with pregnancies that aren't in the uterus, but it's a question of the risk that providers are willing to take when they see patients with difficult circumstances...we're very concerned about the consequences for women in that situation and others," Coffield said.

— Micaela Watts, Memphis Commercial Appeal

Tennessee Right to Life 'thrilled' with decision, vows to keep working

Tennessee Right to Life held a news conference at 3 p.m. in the old state Supreme Court chambers in Nashville to discuss consequences of the decision.

Stacy Dunn, president of Tennessee Right to Life, said the group hopes to support women and create a “culture of life.”

“Pro-life Tennesseans are thrilled,” Dunn said.

She said the group will keep women from being “coerced or threatened” by their employers to have an out-of-state abortion. Tennessee Right to Life will take measures to help women going forward, Dunn said, but are currently only focusing on the immediate consequences of the decision.

“Today we celebrate victory, but tomorrow we get back to work,” Dunn said.

Will Brewer, legislative and legal counsel for Tennessee Right to Life, said the group looks forward to “effecting legislation” related to the foster system.

Brewer said the group expects the 6th Circuit Court to soon lift their blocking of the state “Heartbeat Bill” which bans most abortion after six weeks in the state. The state’s “trigger law,” which is set to take effect in 30 days, will ban virtually all abortions.

The laws only target abortion providers, Dunn and Brewer said.

“Pharmacists and doctors who prescribe this in contravention of the law will be prosecuted,” Brewer said. “Women will not be prosecuted.”

These laws are based on the state’s “fundamental interest in human life,” according to Brewer.

The group will continue to work so that the mother and unborn child “are both met with love and compassion,” Brewer said.

— Logan Washburn and Kenya Anderson, The Tennessean

Tennessee Attorney General holds news conference 

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery began a news briefing at 2 p.m. in Nashville. Watch live below.

Tennessee leaders weigh in

Abortion remained legal in Tennessee as of Friday, but the Supreme Court decision did trigger a 30-day countdown on Tennessee's abortion ban snapping into place.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee hailed the decision as as the "beginning of a hopeful chapter for our country."

He previously signed the Human Life Protection Act, a near-total abortion ban with zero rape or incest exceptions. The law was later blocked by the courts.

"We have spent years preparing for the possibility that authority would return to the states, and Tennessee’s laws will provide the maximum possible protection for both mother and child," Lee said in a social media statement Friday.

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Tennessee House Minority Leader Karen Camper, D-Memphis, said Friday abortion is a "complicated and very personal decision" and decried Tennessee's abortion ban.

"I personally believe that we don’t spend enough time on finding solutions to the reasons why some people have to have abortions," Camper said. "However, this ruling means that in Tennessee, all abortions will be criminalized, including for victims of rape and incest. Women should have the right to make their own, personal healthcare decisions. This is an unfortunate decision based on politics instead of established law and, according to the vast majority of polls, the will of people.” 

— Melissa Brown, Frank Gluck and Adam Friedman, The Tennessean

Abortion rights activists: 'More worried than ever'

Abortion rights activists and others advocating for reproductive rights warned of what they see as the dangers ahead for women.

Healthy and Free Tennessee, a sexual health and reproductive rights group, warned Friday anti-abortion politicians will continue to push the needle on legislation rolling back reproductive rights, criminalizing providers and punishing "pregnant people for their pregnancy outcomes.

Dr. Katrina Green, a Nashville emergency room doctor and an abortion rights activist, said Friday her heart goes out to any Tennessean who is "angry or afraid about what will happen in our state."

"As a physician, I am worried more than ever for my pregnant patients," Green said. "They will no longer have options available to them. We will see suffering and we will see deaths as a result of this."

— Melissa Brown, Frank Gluck and Adam Friedman, The Tennessean

Anti-abortion activists hail decision

Tennessee Right to Life has worked for decades to push legislation restricting abortion in the state.

In a statement, Stacy Dunn, the group's president, called the ruling a "historic moment."

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“This is a victory for democracy. For the first time in almost 50 years, the voters and their elected representatives will have control over this issue rather than unelected judges, and we applaud that,” Dunn said.

“This decision will allow our Tennessee laws to reflect our Tennessee values that unborn children should be protected by law and that every person deserves the right to be born,” Dunn said.

— Duane W. Gang, The Tennessean

Protests, news conferences planned 

A flurry of news conferences were announced as the news spread:

• State Democratic leaders announced plans to host a news conference at 11 a.m.

• Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery held a news conference at 2 p.m.

• Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi is set to give a virtual news briefing at 2 p.m.

• Tennessee Right to Life hosted a news briefing at 3 p.m. at the Cordell Hull Building in Nashville

Protest plans were also announced in Tennessee for Friday.

A Nashville protest in support of abortion rights will kick off at Legislative Plaza at 5 p.m. central time.

A downtown Knoxville protest will start at 4 p.m. central time (5 p.m. Eastern time), starting in Krutch Park on Gay Street.

A midtown Memphis protest is set for 5 p.m. central time in Memphis along Poplar Avenue.

— Rachel Wegner, The Tennessean

Reactions from Memphis, Knoxville, Clarksville 

Emily Berisso, a lead volunteer at the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Midtown Memphis, knew this day was coming. She was posted on the corner by the clinic on Friday, pulling visitors aside from protesters and shuttling them to the door.

She has been a clinic escort for 30 years and takes shifts a few times a week. She wrung her hands around a pink umbrella as she talked about what will be lost when trigger laws, like the one in Tennessee, halt abortions.

“No one wanted to believe that this would actually happen,” Berisso said. “But they have stripped more than half of this country of bodily autonomy today.”

FROM MEMPHIS: In the hours after the fall of Roe v. Wade, the scene outside Memphis' Planned Parenthood

Inside the Planned Parenthood as the decision came down Friday morning, the waiting room was silent. HGTV was on the television. Most of the women inside were looking at their phones.

Corinne Rovetti at Knoxville Center for Reproductive Health released a statement in the hours after the ruling came down, calling it "abysmal." The statement expressed outrage over the court's ruling, pointing to the legal, political and religious fallout it brings.

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"This decision is one of extreme governmental over-reach and intervention violating individual rights, brought to you by the political party that doesn’t believe that government can exercise its authority over individual rights," part of the statement read.

A protest is set for 4 p.m. central time in Knoxville.

In Clarksville, Hope Pregnancy Executive Director Martha Sitzler said she couldn’t believe the news of the ruling on Friday.

“I really never thought this would happen in my lifetime, to be honest,” she said.

Sitzler’s initial response was to let area residents know that the center will continue to offer support and services that include prenatal education, ultrasound scans and pregnancy options. The court ruling will not close facilities like hers, she said.

Instead, Sitzler said she believes a greater need will arise from the court’s decision, “especially as women feel even more limited in their options.”

— Laura Testino, Liz Kellar and Craig Shoup, USA Today Network - Tennessee

Tennessee faith leaders respond to Supreme Court ruling

The Catholic bishops of Tennessee released a statement Friday thanking the Supreme Court for its careful consideration and for ruling in favor of "the right to life for the unborn."

"We pray for all those facing pregnancies, both planned and unplanned, and pledge to redouble our efforts to support mothers, fathers, and children at every stage of life," part of the statement said.

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The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention also applauded the court's decision, saying it overturned a "disastrous abortion precedent."

Brent Leatherwood, ERLC’s acting president, called the decision a “true turning point in the pro-life movement.”

“More lives are now protected today than yesterday. The release of the Dobbs decision marks a true turning point in the pro-life movement, a moment that Christians, advocates and many others have worked toward tirelessly for 50 years," Leatherwood said in a news release. "Their commitment to uphold human dignity and justice has achieved the most significant victory in the history of the pro-life movement."

But the Rev. Kira Austin-Young, who is a priest at St. Ann's Episcopal Church in Nashville, released a video statement Friday. She said she was angry and grieved by the decision.

"As an Episcopal priest, I believe both in the sanctity of life and the importance of individual conscience," Austin-Young said. "Pregnant people deserve to make decisions about their reproductive lives in consultation with their medical professionals, families, and spiritual leaders without being hindered by the government ...  In a state like Tennessee, my prayer is that this decision would compel our legislature to act in consistently pro-life ways, such as expanding Medicare, eliminating the death penalty, and funding education."

— Liam Adams and Rachel Wegner, The Tennessean 

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Abortion in TN updates: Trigger-ban to go in effect after SCOTUS decision