CNA Staff, Oct 15, 2020 / 23:31 pm
A federal judge on Wednesday ruled unconstitutional a mandatory 48-hour waiting period for women seeking abortion in Tennessee, which had been in effect since 2015.
In the legal challenge brought by Planned Parenthood and the pro-abortion Center for Reproductive Rights, Judge Bernard Friedman wrote that most women are already certain about their decision to have an abortion when they go in for their first appointment.
The judge cited testimony from abortion providers that abortion does not increase risk of negative psychological outcomes. He said the regulation placed an "undue burden" on women's "right to abortion."
Tennessee Right to Life, a pro-life organization active in the state, decried the court's decision, contending that the waiting period had saved "countless unborn lives" and spared women the regret of abortion by allowing them extra time to identify life-affirming resources near them.