A new bill in Tennessee proposes treating abortion as murder under state law, extending equal protection rights to unborn children. Sponsored by Rep. Jody Barrett and Sen. Mark Pody, the legislation aims to address the influx of abortion pills into the state. It would criminalize involvement by anyone, including the woman seeking the procedure.
The bill asserts that unborn children are entitled to equal protection under the 14th Amendment, applying all state laws protecting life to them. It would punish anyone involved in ending the life of an unborn child, such as those providing abortion pills or the woman taking them with intent to terminate the pregnancy.
Rep. Jody Barrett explained to The Daily Wire that the legislation "extends equal protection rights to unborn children" so that homicide laws in the criminal code apply to those in the womb. This comes amid data indicating at least 5,870 abortions facilitated through abortion pills mailed into Tennessee in 2024, despite a trigger law banning medication abortions after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Barrett noted that current Tennessee law prohibits only medical professionals from performing abortions, with no crime defined for others. "We don’t ban abortion, we have banned the practice of abortion by medical professionals. There is no crime in Tennessee for anyone else other than a medical professional that performs an abortion," he said. He argues the proposal would help curb the abortion pill issue that has challenged pro-life states, where abortions reportedly increased in 2025 from 2024 levels. Some advocates attribute this to a Biden-era FDA policy allowing mail-order dispensing without in-person doctor visits.
Traditional pro-life groups have opposed criminalizing the mother. Barrett aims to spark discussion, stating, "My goal in presenting the bill and having it heard is for us to start having that conversation and have a deeper discussion about this topic and where our shortcomings are currently in the law that they’re preventing us from stopping this completely and ridding this practice completely from our society."
Local media have highlighted the potential for the death penalty, though Barrett emphasized its rare use and the need for a unanimous jury decision. The bill was developed with input from the Foundation to Abolish Abortion. Its president, Bradley Pierce, said, "The equal protection legislation in Tennessee affirms this simple biblical and constitutional standard by making murdering anyone illegal for everyone." It also has support from Clint Pressley, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, who urged, "Tennessee now has the opportunity to set an example of how states can protect the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death... It’s both pro-life and consistent!"
