Tennessee Kills Bill to Criminalize Abortion as Homicide, Splitting the Pro Life Movement

Tennessee Lawmakers Reject Bill That Would Have Charged Women With Homicide for Having Abortions

A Tennessee House subcommittee has killed a controversial bill that would have imposed criminal homicide penalties on women who obtain abortions, exposing deep divisions within the pro life movement over how far legislation should go.

House Bill 570, sponsored by Republican Rep. Jody Barrett of Dickson, failed on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, when no member of the Population Health Subcommittee offered a motion to advance it. Chairwoman Michele Carringer (R Knoxville) declared the "bill fails for a lack of motion."

The proposed amendment would have applied existing assault and homicide laws to unborn children from the point of fertilization, meaning women who had abortions could have faced life in prison or even the death penalty.

Barrett defended the measure, stating:

We're not targeting mothers. We're targeting unborn children and trying to protect them and give them the protection under the law for you and me.

Southern Baptist Convention President Clint Pressley supported the bill, saying:

By protecting the lives of preborn children with the same laws that protect people who are born, we are simply loving our neighbors in the womb as ourselves.

However, prominent pro life leaders opposed the approach. Penny Young Nance of Concerned Women for America called the proposal "wrongheaded" and "bad strategy," warning it "changes our ability to bring people to our side and harms the movement overall."

Kristi Hamrick of Students for Life of America called the bill "extremely disappointing," emphasizing that women are often "a second victim of the abortion industry."

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler noted that women have "varying moral culpability" depending on their circumstances, drawing a distinction between women who are coerced and those who celebrate their abortions.

Protesters in the gallery disrupted the proceedings after the bill failed, leading Carringer to clear the chamber.

Pro Life Movement Split Over Tennessee Abortion Criminalization Bill HB 570

The bill's failure highlights a growing strategic debate within the pro life movement. While abolitionists push for full criminal penalties, many mainstream pro life organizations argue that targeting women is counterproductive and risks alienating potential allies.

Senate sponsor Mark Pody had already announced he was dropping the bill before the subcommittee hearing, effectively ensuring it had no path forward in the current legislative session.

The Crusader's Opinion

Every child in the womb deserves protection under the law. Full stop. But if the pro life movement tears itself apart over strategy while 73 million children are killed worldwide each year, we have failed. The goal is not to punish grieving mothers. The goal is to end the killing. We need laws that hold the abortion industry accountable, support women in crisis, and ultimately recognize the full humanity of the unborn. Tennessee lawmakers had a chance to take a stand, and they blinked. The fight is not over. It never will be until every life is protected from conception to natural death.

Take Action

• Contact your Tennessee state representative and urge them to support pro life legislation that protects both mothers and unborn children: Find your legislator here
• Support crisis pregnancy centers in Tennessee that provide real alternatives to abortion: Tennessee Pregnancy Resource Centers
• Donate to organizations defending the unborn: The Shepherd's Shield
• Support Students for Life of America in their work to build a post Roe pro life generation: StudentsForLife.org
• Pray for unity in the pro life movement and for lawmakers who have the courage to defend the sanctity of life