Legislation in Tennessee is drawing sharp criticism for imposing the harshest punishment in the nation for an abortion. The state is one of at least 12 this year to address abortion access through legislation or ballot measures.
Tennessee state Rep. Jody Barrett and Sen. Mark Pody, both Republicans, drafted bills in their respective chambers to classify an abortion as first-degree murder, which is death penalty-eligible in the state. The bills haven’t yet been formally introduced, The Tennessean reported, but still drew sharp criticism online as states face policy and ballot challenges to their existing laws from both anti-abortion and pro-abortion activists.
Neither Barrett nor Pody immediately responded to Straight Arrow News’ request for comment.
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Understanding the proposed legislation
The drafted legislation would not apply to “spontaneous miscarriage” or to the unintended death of an “unborn child” following a life-saving procedure to save the mother’s life and the “life of the unborn child.” If a person obtains an abortion and is found guilty under the law, they could face life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty.
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Individuals convicted of first-degree murder in Tennessee are eligible for the death penalty, according to the University of Tennessee.
Tennessee currently prohibits all abortions after fertilization, with few exceptions for ectopic and molar pregnancies. Doctors can face felony charges for performing an abortion, which carries a maximum 15-year prison sentence and fines.
The Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood, the political advocacy arm of Planned Parenthood based in Tennessee, said it’s firmly against the bills as the state shouldn’t impose the death penalty against someone seeking an abortion.
“This bill is an egregious affront to the bodily autonomy, health, and rights of pregnant people, and does nothing to address the maternal and infant mortality crises Tennessee is currently facing,” the organization said.
The bills have gained support just as quickly with the Foundation to Abolish Abortion, an anti-Abortion group that promotes policy that “provides all preborn human beings equal protection of the laws,” issuing a notice for supporters to call their legislators to vote in favor of the amendment.
“Murdering anyone must be illegal for everyone,” the advocacy organization said in a post on X. It praised Barrett and Pody for the legislation.
Pastor Clint Pressley, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, said in a post on X that he’s in support of the legislation as it would “protect every preborn child in Tennessee from abortion” by applying murder laws to them.
“Tennessee now has the opportunity to set an example of how states can protect the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death,” he wrote.
Abortion measures across the nation
Several groups track legislation and ballot initiatives on abortion across the country. Some referendums could appear on the 2026 General Election ballots, but that depends on whether organizers collect enough signatures in time.
Gavin Oxley, legal operations and media relations manager for Americans United for Life (AUL), told Straight Arrow News that states like Ohio and Wyoming are debating bills that would require informed consent for people who seek abortions. AUL is an anti-abortion advocacy organization.
According to its legislation tracker, there are 849 bills and policies across the nation on abortion. That includes a bill introduced in Arizona’s Senate to expand access to contraceptives and a South Carolina bill that amends state laws on abortion to prohibit abortions at the point of conception.
The tracker also identified 515 bills and policies related to fertility and reproductive health and 47 related to pregnancy resource centers.
“States who have passed state constitutional abortion amendments, like Missouri, are also starting to experience buyer’s remorse, having not understood the extreme nature of the measures they have enacted,” Oxley wrote.
The organization’s main goal for 2026 is to implement civil recourse measures nationwide for parents and extended legal families involved in medication abortion. He said that could look like private civil actions, such as lawsuits.
State Court Report, a project from NYU Law’s Brennan Center for Justice, found four states with ballot measures regarding abortion. That includes Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Virginia. Just one referendum effort was found, in Missouri, which would repeal a 2024 voter-passed amendment that declared residents have a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including abortion, and permit legislation to regulate abortions.
