Subcommittee hears testimony on bill targeting out‑of‑state mail delivery of abortion pills; amendment added, bill rolled one week

House Bill 5, a measure the Civil Justice Subcommittee considered on March 1, 2025, would restrict out‑of‑state suppliers from sending abortion‑inducing drugs into Tennessee; the committee added an amendment and agreed to roll the bill one week to allow revisions.

The bill’s sponsor framed the proposal as closing gaps between two existing Tennessee statutes and preventing out‑of‑state operators from mailing abortion pills into Tennessee. The sponsor said Tennessee’s wrongful death statute (20‑5‑106) already defines “person” to include “an unborn child at any stage of gestation,” and cited Tenn. Code Ann. §63‑6‑1103, passed by the 112th General Assembly, which prohibits providing an abortion‑inducing drug “to a patient via courier, delivery, or mail service.” The sponsor also referenced the federal Comstock Act (1873) as a federal prohibition the bill would reinforce. The subcommittee added amendment drafting code 004757 to the bill and, without objection, rolled House Bill 5 for one week so stakeholders and counsel can revise language.

Why it matters: supporters told lawmakers that mail‑order abortion pills are arriving in Tennessee with minimal medical oversight and have caused medical complications and traumatic outcomes for some women and minors, according to testimony. Committee members said they wanted stakeholder input on language before the bill returns.

Testimony and examples

Shelley Sumner, chief executive officer of Life Choices of Memphis and a board member of the Tennessee Pregnancy Center Network, told the committee that chemical abortions accessed through online vendors have increased since the Dobbs decision. Sumner said pregnancy centers’ shared data and client accounts show several risks associated with mail‑order abortion pills: sellers often do not require proof of pregnancy; they provide little medical oversight or emergency contacts; and traffickers and abusers can procure pills for others. Sumner said, “Every women who access the abortion pill online, 100 percent of them stated that they were not given a contact in case of complications.” She also recounted a case she said occurred in fall 2024 in which a client ordered misoprostol from aidaccess.org and later delivered a live baby at 24 weeks after taking misoprostol only.

Kathy Waterbury, executive director of Confidential Care, a mobile pregnancy center, described multiple cases she said her organization has encountered: a 17‑year‑old who delivered a fetus with identifiable limbs after taking pills at home; a young woman with four days of foul‑smelling discharge indicating an incomplete abortion and possible infection; and a post‑abortive patient who bled for weeks and later required multiple blood transfusions. Waterbury said she personally ordered pills online for demonstration and paid $140; she said the package arrived from India and the instructions advised patients who experienced complications to go to an emergency room but “don’t tell them that you’ve taken these pills.” Waterbury testified, “This is not women’s healthcare; this is the absence of healthcare for women.”

Committee response and next steps

Members thanked the witnesses and the bill sponsor for bringing testimony forward. One member said the examples would not likely have been publicly known otherwise and expressed support for addressing unsafe imports of medicines. The sponsor said the modified bill would focus solely on the mailing of abortion‑inducing drugs from out of state and would not change unrelated statutory caps referenced in other code sections.

The subcommittee accepted amendment drafting code 004757 to House Bill 5 by voice vote and approved, without objection, a one‑week roll of the bill so drafters can revise the language in consultation with stakeholders. No recorded roll‑call vote was taken on either action; the chair treated both as passed by voice or “without objection.”

Votes at a glance: - Amendment (drafting code 004757) — added to House Bill 5; voice vote, outcome: amendment added. - House Bill 5 — rolled one week for redrafting; outcome: roll (without objection).

Other calendar actions (procedural, taken without extended discussion): - House Bill 1332 — placed on firearms calendar for March 2025 (without objection). - House Bill 1301 — rode one week (without objection). - House Joint Resolution 7 — placed on the special calendar to be published with the final calendar (without objection). - House Bill 748 — rode two weeks (without objection). - House Bill 982 — rode two weeks (without objection). - Item number 7 — taken off notice (no additional details provided).

Context and limits of action

During the hearing, witnesses and the sponsor repeatedly described concerns about online vendors and the medical oversight—or lack thereof—surrounding self‑managed abortion. The sponsor framed the bill as “acting as a bridge” between existing state statutes and said enforcement questions implicate both state felony provisions and federal law; the committee did not take final action to adopt a permanent change in statute at this meeting, and members directed staff to draft language for further consideration. The committee did not provide fiscal estimates, enforcement protocols, or an implementation timeline during the hearing; those details were not specified in the record. The Tennessee Medical Association was listed on the witness list but did not appear.

Meeting notes

The Civil Justice Subcommittee convened with a quorum and took testimony from two pregnancy‑center representatives. The committee chair opened and closed the hearing; members engaged in brief questioning and discussion but reserved further deliberation until revised language is available. The committee adjourned after completing the calendar.

Sources: testimony from Shelley Sumner, CEO, Life Choices of Memphis; testimony from Kathy Waterbury, executive director, Confidential Care; statements from the bill sponsor and the committee chair as recorded in the Civil Justice Subcommittee transcript for the meeting on March 1, 2025.