The Tennessee Senate will be conducting a “summer study” of The Tennessee Heartbeat Bill (SB1236, sponsored by Senator Mark Pody) on August 12-13, 2019. This is an important bill, but the “pro-life” Republican leadership balked at passing it. Therefore, thus far, they have blocked serious attempts to enact legislation that would significantly lower the number of abortions performed in Tennessee.

As Tennesseans, we are seeing an increase in the number of abortions performed in our state. This increase has been termed “The McNally-Bell Abortion Surge,” named for the two Tennessee officials most responsible for blocking the Heartbeat Bill. As states surrounding Tennessee have passed laws protecting life, out-of-state abortions have been increasing.

• Channel 3 News, a CBS affiliate in Memphis, has reported an 8% increase in the number of Abortions performed at “Choices,” an abortion clinic in Memphis.
• Channel 4 News, an NBC affiliate in Nashville, reports “Tennessee could become ‘hot spot’ for abortions”.
• Knox News said “As neighboring states like Alabama and Georgia pass laws to sharply restrict access to abortions, clinics in Knoxville anticipate that women will end up crossing into Tennessee for care. In fact, they’re already seeing more patients” (emphasis added)

Note carefully: these sourced quotes come from all three major regions in Tennessee. They come from media sources that wrote original articles independently of each other after they interviewed local abortion clinics. East and West Tennessee abortion clinics say they’re already performing more abortions, and Nashville says they predict they will.

The McNally-Bell Abortion Surge is Forming, and Will Hit Our State with Great Force.

Because of this, we are calling on prolife families to show up at the capital during the summer study. You’re not disqualified if you can come alone, either; you’re needed as well! This isn’t a protest. Rather, we are asking individuals and families families to walk the grounds and pray that God would end abortion in Tennessee. We call on them to sit in on the summer study itself, if space permits. If not – they can still walk and pray.

We also need Christians to pray that God would move the hearts of the two individuals most responsible for killing the heartbeat bill in the Senate this year, Senator Mike Bell and Lt. Governor Randy McNally.

Here, specifically, is what you can do:

1. Be at the capitol on August 12 noon to 2:00 p.m.. The committee convenes at 1:00. You are encouraged to walk the grounds all day, but if you can be at the capitol only for a bit, be there at noon.
2. Wear red T-Shirts to show you’re there supporting the Tennessee’s Heartbeat Abortion Bill and the ending of Abortion in Tennessee.
3. Walk the grounds, praying alone or with your family. This isn’t a “rally.” Don’t stop walking. Don’t loiter.Rather. If security closes the capital, simply walk in a larger perimeter. In doing this, we simply will be exercising our rights to free speech and to petition for redress of grievances — rights recognized in the US Constitution, the supreme law of the land.
4. Join us at 7:00 pm for a prayer service in Lebanon, TN. We are finalizing the location of this.