NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Republican National Committee recently drafted a measure softening its stance on abortion to align with former President Donald Trump's "leave it up to the states" approach, but a recent Vanderbilt poll found many Tennesseans who participated don't agree with how the state has handled the issue.
For the first time in 40 years, the RNC abandoned its call for a federal abortion ban after 20 weeks and moved to adopt a new party platform that supports leaving the issue for the states to legislate.
Reporters in Tennessee asked Gov. Bill Lee Monday whether he approves of the change. While he didn't directly answer, "yes," or "no," Lee told journalists, "the most important thing is the states have the ability to decide."
"My personal belief is that we should do everything we can to protect the lives of children, and we've done that in this state, including the lives of unborn children," Gov. Lee said. "What the national platform committee decides, I'm not a part of that so I can't really speak to it, but what I'm focused on is what we're doing here in our state. As long as the states have been given the authority to make those decisions, we'll stay focused on what we're doing here in Tennessee."
Tennessee has one of the strictest abortion laws in the U.S., only allowing exceptions for limited medical emergencies, despite former President Trump recently stating he supports exceptions for rape and incest too.
The TN General Assembly has considered but never passed legislation allowing abortion exceptions for rape and incest.
“I think there are a lot of members who are in favor of adding exceptions," Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) told News 2 in April. "We [passed an exception for] life of the mother a year or so ago, so that got put in. I think there are members who would like to go in that direction. We’ll see.”
A 2023 Vanderbilt University poll on abortion found 77% of Tennessee voters who participated believe abortion should be legal in cases of rape and incest, regardless of political affiliation.
Another Vanderbilt poll conducted this year revealed a shift from pro-exception to pro-choice. According to the results, 52% of those who participated in the survey support a "woman's right to abortion," with the majority of supporters being Democrats and women across all political parties.