Governor Lee signs bill to ban mail-in abortion pills

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - As the country awaits a Supreme Court decision on Roe V. Wade, Tennessee passed another restriction on abortions.

Late Thursday afternoon, Governor Bill Lee signed a new law, making the penalty for delivering abortion pills by mail punishable by up to a $50,000 fine.

In 2021, the FDA approved abortion pills by mail and Telehealth consultations to obtain them. Tennessee’s new law requires a doctor to hand a patient the medication. Telehealth consultations for drug-induced abortions were already illegal in Tennessee.

According to the law (HB 2416), “A manufacturer, supplier, pharmacy, physician, qualified physician, or other people may not provide an abortion-inducing drug via courier, delivery, or mail service.”

The law requires that all hospitals or other facilities that provide abortion-inducing drugs report each chemical abortion performed on prescribed forms and that the physician who provided the drug report if the patient experiences an adverse event.

If Roe V. Wade were to overturn, abortion medication would be illegal in Tennessee.

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