Please contact (email and phone) your state legislators today and ask them to vote “no” on SJR127 which states that “Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion.” Passing this ammendment would guarantee that women in Tennessee would not be protected under the current state constitutional right to privacy (which currently ensures a woman’s right to choose) should Roe v. Wade be overturned.

From the ACLU-TN: “SJR127 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 instate court.”

Procedure and timing - SJR127 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.

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.

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.

BREAKING NEWS: CNN Reports that Gov. Mike Rounds signs legislation banning nearly all abortions in South Dakota.

This post was written by Mary Mancini