Tennessee House Bill HB1105

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/5/25
• Refer: 2/10/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, Chapter 15, Part 2, relative to criminal abortion.

Summary

HB1105 amends Tennessee’s criminal abortion statute to create a narrow exception to the state’s abortion ban. Under the bill, an abortion would not be subject to the criminal prohibition if it is performed or attempted by a licensed physician and the pregnancy resulted from certain sexual offenses: aggravated rape, rape, rape of a child, especially aggravated rape, especially aggravated rape of a child, or incest. The bill does not broadly legalize abortion or alter the underlying criminal abortion framework; instead, it adds a specific rape- and incest-based exception to Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-15-213. The exception is limited to licensed physicians and to pregnancies arising from the listed offenses, leaving the rest of the criminal abortion law in place. The act would take effect immediately upon becoming law.

Impact

HB1105 would modify Tennessee’s criminal abortion law by adding a statutory exception to the offense provisions in Title 39, Chapter 15, Part 2. It would affect physicians performing abortions and patients whose pregnancies resulted from specified sexual offenses, and it would narrow the reach of the existing criminal prohibition by exempting those cases from prosecution under subsection (b).

Sentiment

No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate, support, or opposition in the available materials. Based on the text alone, the bill appears to be a targeted exception within an otherwise restrictive abortion law, which typically draws both support from advocates for rape and incest exceptions and opposition from those favoring a broader abortion ban.

Contention

The main point of contention is likely the scope of the exception: the bill applies only when the abortion is performed by a licensed physician and only for pregnancies resulting from the enumerated offenses. Supporters would likely emphasize access to abortion in cases of rape and incest, while opponents may argue that any exception weakens the state’s criminal abortion restrictions or that the bill should not create exceptions at all. The absence of transcript and vote data means no specific legislators or groups can be identified from the record provided.