HB 27 - SB 187
FISCAL NOTE
Fiscal Review Committee
Tennessee General Assembly
March 6, 2025
Fiscal Analyst: Chris Higgins | Email: chris.higgins@capitol.tn.gov | Phone: 615-741-2564
HB 27 - SB 187
SUMMARY OF BILL: Enacts the Reproductive Freedom Act. Establishes that every person has
a fundamental right to make decisions about the person’s reproductive health care, including the
fundamental right to use or refuse contraceptive procedures or contraceptive supplies. States that a
pregnant person has a fundamental right to continue a pregnancy and give birth, and a fundamental
right to have an abortion and to make decisions about how to exercise that right.
Prohibits the state or a department, agency, entity, or political subdivision of this state from: (1)
denying, restricting, interfering with, or discriminating against a person’s fundamental rights as
outlined in the proposed legislation in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or
information; (2) criminalizing any actions taken by a person in the exercise of the person’s
fundamental rights; or (3) depriving, through prosecution, punishment, or other means, an
individual of the right to act or refrain from acting during the individual’s own pregnancy based on
the potential, actual, or perceived impact on the pregnancy, the pregnancy’s outcomes, or the
pregnant individual’s health.
Removes the prohibitions on counties, municipalities, and metropolitan governments expending
funds for the purposes of assisting a person in obtaining a criminal abortion. Eliminates the offense
of criminal abortion. Eliminates the offense of abortion trafficking of a minor. Removes the
requirement for parental consent for a minor to obtain an abortion. Eliminates the offense of failing
to obtain parental consent before performing an abortion on an unemancipated minor, and the
offense of impersonating the parent or legal guardian of an unemancipated minor for the purpose of
circumventing the requirement to obtain consent for an abortion. Eliminates the offense of
intentionally performing an abortion with knowledge that the person upon whom the abortion is to
be performed is an unemancipated minor.
Eliminates the Tennessee Abortion-Inducing Drug Risk Protocol Act, which requires that an abortion-
inducing drug may only be provided by a qualified physician. Deletes various record keeping
requirements and civil penalties associated with healthcare providers and facilities that perform
abortions.
Eliminates the requirement for the Commissioner of Finance and Administration to submit a waiver
amendment to the existing TennCare II waiver that required elective abortion providers be excluded
from participation as providers in the TennCare program to the federal Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid services for approval.
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FISCAL IMPACT:
NOT SIGNIFICANT
Assumptions:
• Any necessary rule changes by boards under the Division of Health-Related Boards can be
accommodated within the appropriate board’s regularly-scheduled meetings at no additional
cost.
• The proposed legislation is not estimated to result in an increase in local expenditures to
assist individuals in obtaining abortions.
• Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-10-303(a)(1), failure of the person performing an
abortion to obtain or retain documentation and consent of the parent or the legal guardian
of a minor is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable only by a fine.
• Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-10-303(b), a person commits a Class A misdemeanor
who impersonates the parent or legal guardian of an unemancipated minor for the purpose
of circumventing the requirements to obtain consent of the parent or legal guardian of a
minor before performing an abortion.
• Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-10-306, intentionally performing an abortion with
knowledge that, or with reckless disregard as to whether, the person upon whom the
abortion is to be performed is an unemancipated minor is a Class A misdemeanor.
• According to information provided by the Administrative Office of the Courts, there have
been no misdemeanor convictions under Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 37-10-303 or 37-10-306 in
the last five years.
• Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-15-213(b), criminal abortion is a Class C felony.
• Based upon information previously provided by the Department of Correction, there has
been zero admissions for the Class C felony offense under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-15-213(b)
for criminal abortion since the enactment of such law in 2019, and zero admissions for the
Class E felony offense under Tenn. Code Ann. § 63-6-1105 for violation of the Tennessee
Abortion-Inducing Drug Risk Protocol Act since the enactment of such law in 2023.
• Eliminating the offenses relating to performing abortion on unemancipated minors, the
offense of criminal abortion, and the various reporting requirements and civil penalties
associated with healthcare providers and facilities that perform abortions will not result in a
sufficient change in the number of prosecutions for state or local government to experience
any significant change in revenue or expenditures.
• Passage of the proposed legislation will have no impact on the policies or procedures of the
Division of TennCare or Benefits Administration.
• Any impact to the court system as a result of the proposed legislation is estimated to be not
significant.
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CERTIFICATION:
The information contained herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
Bojan Savic, Executive Director