Tennessee Women's Political Caucus
2009 Legislative Highlights

Teen Pregnancy and Infant Mortality House Study Committee - Proposed and helped pass study committee resolution to jumpstart bipartisan dialogue on important issues and on the need for access to accurate information and birth control for teens. By the end of 2009, the study committee had already met four times and heard from a number of experts on the subjects. 

Handgun surrender - Helped pass bill so that persons subject to an order of protection or convicted of domestic violence will now be required to surrender all firearms to law enforcement. (Bill proposed by Tn Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Rape and Sexual Abuse.) 

Ban on physical restraints for pregnant women - Helped pass bill which restricts the use of such restraints on women who are pregnant or post-partum when incarcerated.  (Bill proposed by Tennessee ACLU.) 

Mandatory Joint Custody - Worked against three nearly identical bills, all of which were either defeated or deferred to 2010 due to a lack of support in a key subcommittee. All sought to establish a rebuttable presumption that “equal parenting” is in the best interest of a child of divorcing parents. The bills would have eliminated judicial ability to decide contested cases on an individual basis based on the best interests of the child or children involved. State law currently requires judges to consider joint custody whenever possible. 

Paternity Testing and Medical Records – Opposed bills on both subjects, which were not approved. Multiple mandatory paternity testing bills were also opposed by Dept. of Human Services and various health care organizations. The medical records bill would have required health care providers to share every aspect of a minor child’s medical records with parents or guardians, eliminating the discretion currently allowed for providers to have confidential discussions with teens about such sensitive subjects as sexual activity, birth control, and drug or alcohol use. 

Federal Family Planning Funds for Planned Parenthood – Helped defeat an effort to divert federal funds administered by state Dept. of Health by requiring them to go only to local health departments, rather than to non-profit Planned Parenthood clinics, despite evidence that state health departments are at capacity for the provision of family planning services in major urban communities. The Planned Parenthood clinics serve 20,000 Tennessee women each year utilizing the funding. 

Constitutional Protection of Right to Privacy – Unsuccessfully opposed passage of SJR127, which had been proposed but not passed during the past three General Assembly terms. Newly constituted House subcommittees and committees were designed to allow passage of the resolution, which seeks to amend a privacy provision in the state constitution to state that it does not apply to abortion. The resolution, which required a simple majority vote upon this initial passage, must next be approved by a two-thirds vote in the House and the Senate during the 107th General Assembly before it may be placed on the statewide ballot for a popular vote in 2014.  

Click here to see legislative accomplishments for 2008 through 1982.