Even In a Largely Conservative State, Most Tennesseans Support Medical Exceptions to Abortion, IVF

Eden Turner, Nashville Banner, March 9, 2026

A new poll found that most Tennessee voters support medical exceptions for abortion as well as IVF, or in vitro fertilization, treatments despite legislation that proposes to enact harsher reproductive health restrictions.

A poll of 600 likely voters, conducted in January by veteran D.C. pollster Fred Yang for the Tennessee Freedom Circle Education Fund, found:

• 80 percent of Tennesseans support abortion when the mother’s life is at risk

• 72 percent support abortion in cases of rape or incest

• 73 percent believe IVF should remain legal

The survey comes as roughly 70 bills addressing reproductive health are circulating in the Tennessee State Legislature, including some that, if passed, would establish fetal personhood and create civil liability for abortion care. Senate Bill 738, supported by Sen. Mark Pody (R-Lebanon), would make abortion punishable by the death penalty, but the Banner previously reported that it will most likely struggle to pass in the Senate.

“This session, lawmakers are pushing policies that are far more extreme than what Tennessee voters support,” Monica Mackie, chair of Tennessee Freedom Circle Education Fund, said. “Our polling shows that even in a deeply conservative electorate, voters support exceptions to Tennessee’s abortion ban and strongly support keeping IVF legal. The direction of these bills moves the state further away from where most Tennesseans actually are.”

The poll surveyed 600 Tennesseans who are likely to vote in the next election. The makeup of the poll largely mirrored the electorate, with 56 percent of respondents identifying as Republican, 25 percent as Democrat and 16 percent independent. Those surveyed ranked abortion as the lowest legislative priority, as opposed to healthcare and education, which 30 percent and 29 percent of voters ranked in the first and second places, respectively. Seven percent of respondents ranked abortion as the highest priority.

While 50 percent of voters identified as pro-life, 76 percent supported that abortions should be legal in at least a few cases, including lethal fetal anomalies, when the woman is a victim of rape or incest and human trafficking. 

When informed about the state’s current abortion law — which bans abortion with limited exceptions for pregnancies that develop outside of the uterus, molar or ectopic pregnancies and to prevent serious health risks that could result in the impairment of the mother’s major bodily functions — 49 percent of voters supported it.

When voters learned that there are no exceptions for pregnancies that are the result of rape, incest and human trafficking, 51 percent thought the law should be less restrictive. Thirty-seven percent supported the current law, and four percent of voters thought it should be more restrictive.

In total, 40 percent of voters knew someone who had used IVF. Seventy-three percent felt that IVF should remain legal.

Reproductive rights activists organize around abortion ban anniversary

Nate Rau, Axios, September 3, 2024

Reproductive rights advocates are using the second anniversary of Tennessee's abortion law taking effect as a rallying cry.

The big picture: The Tennessee Freedom Circle, an activist group formed in the wake of the Supreme Court's landmark Dobbs decision, is organizing around the Aug. 25 anniversary by educating voters about the state's abortion ban and IVF policy.

• The Freedom Circle released a 30-second digital ad and new strategic plan, which the organization says is "aimed at maximizing voter engagement and education throughout the 2024 election cycle."

Why it matters: The state's strict abortion ban has recast activism around the issue and created unexpected new policy debates, such as fertility treatments.

• The legislature amended the state's abortion law last year to allow narrow exceptions for the life and health of the pregnant woman.

The other side: With the abortion ban in effect, the Tennessee Right to Life organization is focused on working "with legislators to ensure that adequate funding and resources are allocated to help babies and their mothers during pregnancy and into early childhood," the group's attorney and lobbyist Will Brewer tells Axios.

• Brewer says Tennessee Right to Life supports Gov. Bill Lee's Strong Families program, which provides aid to needy mothers.

• "The second anniversary of the Human Life Protection Act going into effect represents the continuing celebration that women and their children are being protected in Tennessee," Brewer says. "After 50 years of abortion-on-demand, we are proud to live in a state where our elected officials recognize the intrinsic value of every human life."

Zoom out: The aftermath of the Dobbs ruling pushed state laws concerning fertility treatments into the forefront. A court ruling in Alabama briefly banned some fertility treatments, and some religious groups have condemned IVF.

The Tennessee Freedom Circle pushed a bill this past session to clarify that IVF and other fertility treatments are protected under state law. The bill ultimately failed, but the group says it will continue pushing on that front.

• The Tennessee attorney general issued a legal opinion this year that says the disposal of fertilized embryos from IVF treatments is not illegal under the state's abortion law.

• Brewer says Tennessee Right to Life has no position or comment with regard to IVF treatments. "It is important to note that Tennessee law does not prohibit IVF treatments and there has been no legislation introduced to do so," he says.

Tennessee two years after 'near' abortion ban

Kelly Avellino, Fox17, August 27, 2024

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — This past Sunday marked two years since Tennessee banned abortions, except to prevent serous injury or death in the mother. After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, states now decide their own abortion laws. Tennessee moved quickly after the ruling. About two months later, state lawmakers passed some of the toughest abortion restrictions in the nation.

"Last year alone, over 10,000 women left state to receive maternal healthcare," said Emily Cupples, director of the Tennessee Freedom Circle, a pro-choice organization. The nonprofit's website said it's "dedicated to advancing reproductive freedom through a comprehensive approach that includes legal expertise, legislative advocacy, and public education." The Tennessee Freedom Circle released an advocacy video this weekend, aiming to share the impact of the decision, now 24 months later.

"Abortions are no longer legal in the state of Tennessee for the first time in 50 years," stated the video's opening narration.

Cupples said it's the first in a series of videos the organization plans to release this election cycle to educate voters on our state's current abortion laws, and their effect on Tennesseans.

Since Tennessee passed what's known as a trigger law or ban after Roe v. Wade was overturned, Cupples said abortion clinics across the state closed. Now, doctors are leaving as well, according to Cupples.

"We've seen a decline, a 5% decline in med school applications in the state of Tennessee because the laws are so restrictive," said Cupples. "People don't want to come here to be trained and practice because they're worried about legal and financial consequences."

But republicans have often remained in support of states controlling the abortion issue.

"I don't think there's a real shot at a national ban or a national approval of abortion," said conservative radio host Steve Gil.

"We now have abortion going onto the ballot in a number of states. We're going to see it increasingly where people will decide in their state, what they think the abortion restrictions should be. Should it be soon after someone gets pregnant? Should it be a moment before or a moment after birth?"

A 2022 Vanderbilt University poll showed 80% of Tennesseans supported abortion under some circumstances. The most widely accepted are rape, incest, fatal fetal issues or preventing serious injury or death to the mother.

Republican vice presidential candidaite JD Vance said former president Donald Trump would not support a federal ban on abortion, and would veto it, if elected. Trump has said states should make the decision.

Kentucky governor decries 'extremism' in exception-less abortion bans at Nashville event

Melissa Brown, Tennessean, June 22, 2024

Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear decried "extremism" in state abortion bans during a Nashville event on reproductive rights on Friday, pointing to a lack of rape and incest exceptions in Kentucky and Tennessee law as Republicans have effectively banned nearly all abortions in both states.

"Extremism pushes everybody off. It's not the right way to govern," Beshear said. "It's not the right way to make policies, because our policies aren't about proving how pure you are to this party or that party. They're about human beings."

A 2023 Vanderbilt poll showed the vast majority of Tennesseans, including a majority of Republicans, support increased abortion exceptions for victims of rape and incest. Increasingly, Tennessee women of all stripes have identified as "pro-choice" in the wake of the abortion ban. Meanwhile, the Republican supermajority in the General Assembly has continually resisted efforts to add narrow exceptions to the state's abortion ban.

Hadley Duvall, a Kentucky woman who survived child sexual abuse and has emerged as an outspoken advocate for abortion rights, joined Beshear on Friday to speak to the Tennessee Freedom Circle, a reproductive rights group. Both said abuse survivors urgently need exceptions to the law.

Duvall first shared her story on social media in the wake of the Dobbs ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. Duvall, whose stepfather abused her for most of her childhood, became pregnant at the age of 12.

The pair on Friday acknowledged abortion can be a polarizing political issue, but Beshear encouraged Tennesseans to approach conversations about it on a personal level, as Duvall has done. Duvall said she doesn't describe herself as "pro-choice" or pro-abortion.

"I say all the time, I'm pro mind your own business," Duvall said.

Reproductive rights played a significant role in Beshear's reelection last fall, and the victory in a close race was a major win for Democrats in a state with a Republican legislative supermajority. Duvall fronted an affecting ad directly calling out Beshear's opponent for supporting the Kentucky abortion ban without a rape or incest exception, calling it "unthinkable" to require a 12-year-old to have her stepfather's baby.

Kentucky's abortion ban resembles Tennessee's in requiring women and children who become pregnant via sexual abuse to continue the pregnancy. Tennessee lawmakers last year added a very narrow exception to prevent the death or serious injury of the mother, as the initial version made it a crime for any abortion to be performed in the state.

Tennessee Republican lawmakers have continually blocked efforts to add rape/incest exceptions or exceptions in cases of extreme fetal abnormalities incompatible with life.

"I can't imagine having to hear the news that far too many people who want to be parents do: That your child is not going to make it," Beshear said. "You might have to hear the last gasps of their life the moment that they are born, and you don't have an option. That's wrong. It is just wrong. And again, the vast majority of Americans agree that it's wrong."

Beshear's Nashville stop came just days after the Iowa Democratic Party announced the Kentucky governor will be its keynote speaker at an annual fundraiser dinner next month. The announcement added fuel to ongoing speculation that Beshear is eyeing a 2028 presidential run, as Iowa has historically played an outsize role in presidential primary contests.

He launched a political action committee this year, which has raised more than $300,000 and endorsed candidates across the country, not just in Kentucky.

Beshear denounces ‘extremism’ in abortion policy at Tenn. reproductive health event

Alex Acquisto, Lexington Herald Leader, June 24, 2024

Gov. Andy Beshear reiterated a call for Kentucky and Tennessee to add rape and fatal fetal anomaly exceptions to both state’s near-total abortion bans, saying “extremism pushes everybody off.” “Imagine somebody violated by a person in their family, somebody who is supposed to keep them safe,” Beshear said to a crowd at the Tennessee Justice Center in Nashville Friday evening.

There is no fault with the victim, he said, “there is only a crime committed, and our state legislatures are trying to say they shouldn’t have basic options.” The second-term Democratic governor, alongside abortion rights advocate Hadley Duvall, were the keynote speakers at fundraiser for the restoration of reproductive health care access in Tennessee hosted by the Tennessee Freedom Circle, a group formed after the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022. Among the audience of roughly 100 donors and supporters were a handful of the Volunteer State’s Democratic lawmakers.

Read more at: https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article289474480.html#storylink=cpy

Scoop: Kentucky's Gov. Beshear to talk reproductive rights in Nashville

Axios News, Nate Rau, May 13, 2024

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear will visit Nashville next month to speak at an event advocating for reproductive rights in Tennessee.

• Beshear will be joined by Hadley Duvall, a rape survivor turned advocate whose story inspired "Hadley's Law," a legislative effort to reform Kentucky's near-total abortion ban.

Why it matters: Beshear's visit is at a time when reproductive rights groups are gaining momentum in organizing, but still losing legislative battles.

• Beshear is seen as a rising star in the Democratic party who won re-election in a conservative state last year after campaigning on abortion access.

State of play: During its most recent session, the Republican-majority Tennessee legislature rejected a proposal to clarify that the state's strict abortion law doesn't ban fertility treatments.

• Lawmakers passed a bill making it illegal for non-family members to drive a minor out of state for an abortion without parental consent.

Zoom in: The Tennessee Freedom Circle, which formed after the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs ruling, will host the June 21 event.

• General admission tickets cost $100.

What she's saying: Tyler Chance Yarbro, co-founder of the Tennessee Freedom Circle, said in a statement she hopes the event with Beshear and Duvall will serve "as a beacon of hope, rallying individuals committed to advocating for compassionate and sensible policies that respect reproductive freedom and support survivors."

Zoom out: Beshear is the political rarity of a Democrat leading a conservative state with an abortion ban. Earlier this year, he backed legislation to add exceptions for rape, incest and nonviable pregnancies to Kentucky's ban. The bill failed to advance in the Kentucky legislature.

Tennessee bill to codify IVF protection fails

Axios News, Nate Rau, Mar 11, 2024

A bill to protect in vitro fertility treatments from Tennessee's strict abortion ban failed in a House subcommittee last week.

Why it matters: There's a push to protect IVF treatments in the law following a ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court, which found that frozen embryos should be considered children.

• In response, Alabama already passed a law protecting the fertility treatments from its abortion ban. Lawmakers in other states are considering similar measures.

State of play: Reproductive rights advocates led by the Tennessee Freedom Circle sought to clarify that fertility treatments are protected under Tennessee law.

• The proposed legislation also would have protected contraception approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration.

Zoom in: Gov. Bill Lee said he supports IVF treatments. A 2022 legal opinion by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti concluded that fertility treatments are not banned under the abortion law.

• Despite Lee's support and the AG opinion, advocates worry a legal gray area, similar to what happened in Alabama, could arise here. To avoid that, they said, explicit protections are needed.

Driving the news: In its meeting on Tuesday, the House population health subcommittee rejected the bill from Rep. Harold Love, D-Nashville. Republican lawmakers expressed doubt during the meeting that clarifying language is necessary.

• "It is legal here in Tennessee," said Rep. Bryan Terry of Murfreesboro. "And there's not something that anybody's doing to not make that legal here in Tennessee."

The latest: In his State of the Union speech on Thursday, President Biden urged Congress to protect IVF treatments.

By the numbers: 1,025 infants were born in Tennessee in 2021 with the use of assisted reproductive technologies like IVF, according to the most recent CDC data.

• That accounts for 1.3% of all births in Tennessee that year.

More than 2,055 embryo transfers were performed in Tennessee to get that number of infants.

What's next: Tyler Chance Yarbro, who chairs the Tennessee Freedom Circle advocacy group, tells Axios her organization will focus on "educating and engaging with lawmakers across the political spectrum."

Tennessee's abortion law threatened my life. I'm suing on behalf of my deceased daughter.

The Tennessean, Allyson “Allie” Phillips, Sep. 25, 2023

Tennessee’s politicians are passing cruel laws against something they know nothing about − medically essential abortions.

I needed one, and it was traumatizing for me and my family that I had to leave Tennessee to get it. Tennesseans must be able to get the care they need at home.

A lifelong Tennessean, I became a single mom at age 22, working three jobs to support my daughter while earning my degree.

Adalie is 6 now and like me, she’s very social and a little stubborn. About the time she turned 3, I reconnected with a former high school boyfriend and we got married last year.

Bryan is such a great stepfather and we both wanted to grow our family. We were ecstatic to learn we were pregnant last November. Each night, at bedtime, Adalie would lie next to me and sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" while rubbing my belly.

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I could not legally get an abortion in Tennessee

Early on, we learned we were having a girl. We named her Miley Rose, after the song “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus.

At 19 weeks, I brought Adalie along with me to share in what I thought would be a routine anatomy scan. But after the scan, I saw a high-risk maternal fetal medicine specialist who explained that Miley’s kidneys, bladder and stomach had not formed as expected and were not functioning. 

Two of the four chambers of her heart were also not working. She had little-to-no amniotic fluid. She had stopped growing. There were no signs of lung development. She also had a rare brain condition. We were told she had no chance at life.

It was definitive. 

The doctor suggested there were two options– either terminating the pregnancy, or continuing, knowing she would not survive. 

Because of Tennessee’s cruel ban on abortion, an essential medical procedure, I could not legally get an abortion in my home state. I would have to travel out of state, and my doctor told me that Tennessee law prevented her from offering me any resources in that effort.

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Our daughter died, but the risk to me was still great

Although there was no way of knowing how much longer Miley Rose would survive inside my womb, the longer she was there, the more risk there was to my health and safety. I made the decision to have an abortion. 

Instead of being able to grieve for her and the future we dreamed of, I had to scramble and start calling clinics in the states that allowed second trimester abortions, book flights, find hotels and arrange transportation. And figure out how to pay for it all.

Thankfully, I found a clinic in New York City that could get me in the following week. After I arrived at the clinic, I learned that Miley Rose’s heart was no longer beating.

Completely broken, I had to call Bryan and tell him over the phone that our daughter was gone. But the risk to me was not over. The doctor told me that my body hadn’t recognized that she had died, and that there was about a 2-week window before I would become severely at risk of blood clots and infections, including sepsis.

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I can honor my daughter Miley Rose through my testimony

Within an hour, I went into surgery alone. I sat in recovery alone. I grieved the loss of my daughter alone, in a city I’d never been to, around doctors I’d never met before, far from my family. I am so grateful for the caring professionals who treated me with such dignity, but I should never have had to leave home for humane health care–abortion care.

I realized that sharing my experience publicly could be a powerful way to honor Miley Rose. 

That is why I’m joining the Center for Reproductive Rights’ case against Tennessee; it’s why I documented my heartbreaking experience on TikTok. It’s why I’m going to keep fighting these dangerous laws. The autonomy to make personal medical decisions about our lives and futures and health care must be returned to patients like me and our doctors.

Allyson "Allie" Phillips, a Tennessee mother and plaintiff in the case filed Sept. 11 against the State of Tennessee on behalf of three women who were denied abortions in dire situations.