Tennessee abortion bill would require publishing names of doctors
Why don’t the legislators just create a bill to have women sew a large red “A” on their clothing?
The latest salvo in the abortion wars comes in the form of a bill in the Tennessee Legislature that would result in the online publication of the names of doctors who perform abortions, and — according to critics of the measure — potentially out individual women who undergo the procedure.
The Life Defense Act of 2012, which is under consideration in the Tennessee House, would direct the state Health Department to post on its website a report on every abortion, to be filled out by the facility where the procedure takes place.
The reports must include the “identification of the physician who performed the abortion and the physician’s office, clinic, hospital or other facility where the abortion was performed,” according to the official summary of the bill.
Chas Sisk of the Nashville Tennessean reports that abortion-rights advocates are worried this could result in the intimidation of doctors, given violent acts against abortion providers in the past.