On Monday, a group of abortion providers filed a second lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s new law that requires those who perform abortions to inform those women who are seeking medication-induced abortions that the procedure can be reversed. 
 
The law, which passed in June, requires abortion providers to post signage detailing the reversal process for medication-induced abortions, outlining that the process may be undone after a woman takes mifepristone but before she takes the second drug. The provider must also verbally inform each patient that the procedure may be reversible. Providers who fail to comply could face criminal charges for a Class E felony with facilities facing up to $10,000 in fines per day for failure to display the required signage. 
 
With the state law going into effect on October 1st, the complaint asks a federal court to stop its implementation, claiming that the law violates the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause and infringes on the abortion provider’s constitutional rights by compelling speech. 
 
The complaint warns that, “The only foreseeable effect of providing patients with this information in advance is that patients who believe the State’s medically inaccurate disclosure may be misled into thinking that they need not have firmly decided to have an abortion prior to taking mifepristone, erroneously believing that the abortion can be ‘reversed’ if they later change their mind.” 
 
The complaint is the second legal battle targeting pro-life legislation Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed off on earlier this year. However, Lee has promised to do “whatever it takes in court” to defend the anti-abortion law.

News Sources: