Tennesseans misunderstand abortion law, want exceptions

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Most registered voters in Tennessee want exceptions for rape or incest in the state's sweeping abortion ban, but they largely don't know the specifics of what's in the law as it stands today, according to new Vanderbilt University polling.

The disconnect comes in a state that votes consistently for Republicans and has one of the strictest abortion bans in the country. Three out of four people polled think that abortion should be legal if the pregnancy results from rape or incest, an exception that doesn't exist in current law. But fewer than 1 in 5 were able to pick which of the statements Vanderbilt provided that most closely described the current abortion law's requirements, according to Vanderbilt pollsters.

Asked about six descriptions, 36% of respondents said they did not know enough to say what the law entails, while 23% chose the option “illegal except in the case of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.”

Tennessee's ban doesn't have an explicit exemption for the mother's life. Instead, it shifts the burden to the doctor to make a case in criminal court, if charged with a felony under the law, that an abortion was needed to save the mother’s life or spare her from irreversible, severe impairment.

In legalese, the ban spells out an “affirmative defense” to protect the mother's life, which Republican officials say translates to making exceptions to protect pregnant women's health, even though it leaves the onus on the doctor to prove that the abortion was necessary.

They passed the law in 2019, only directing it to take effect if the Supreme Court struck down the Roe v. Wade abortion rights ruling.

The law makes performing an abortion a Class C felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The views of Tennesseans on rape and...