MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Voters in Tennessee will decide whether to change current abortion laws in the state.
The Amendment 1 proposal is one of the most controversial measures on the ballot, and voters have a lot of questions about it.
Some say after reading it over and over, they still have a tough time understanding it.
University of Memphis law professor Steve Mulroy broke Amendment 1 down for us. But first, rewind to 14 years ago.
“Back in 2000, the Tennessee Supreme court issued a decision that said in the Tennessee Constitution, people’s right of privacy, abortion rights were stronger than under the rights of the federal constitution,” he said.
Amendment 1 would reverse that 14-year-old decision. We asked Mulroy what voting yes means for voters.
“If you vote yes, you want the state legislature in Nashville to have complete authority to decide when an abortion was and was not legal,” he said.
We also asked what voting no means.
“Voting no means you want the Tennessee Supreme Court decision to stand that says that people have a constitutional right to abortion,” Mulroy said.
Supporters say they don’t want the state to become a destination for abortions. Opponents say amendment one is about a woman making a personal decision without political interference.
Mulroy says out of all the amendments, this is one of the most controversial.
