Beginning July 1, 2017, It will be Harder to Kill a Child in Tennessee.

You heard right.  In what has been referred to as one of the strongest pro-life bills in the country, Tennessee’s new bill that details the steps needed to kill a human child takes effect on Saturday, July 1, 2017

Senate Bill 1180 was signed on May 11, 2017 by Gov. Bill Haslam.  

You can read the bill here. 

Doubt me?  

Here are a couple of definitions per SB 1180.

"Abortion" means the use of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance or device with intent to terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant with intent other than to increase the probability of a live birth, to preserve the life or health of the child after live birth, or to remove a dead fetus. 

"Pregnant" means the human female reproductive condition, of having a living unborn child within her body throughout the entire embryonic and fetal stages of the unborn child from fertilization to full gestation and childbirth. 

"Unborn child" means an individual living member of the species, homo sapiens, throughout the entire embryonic and fetal stages of the unborn child from fertilization to full gestation and childbirth. 

"Viable" and "viability" mean that stage of fetal development when the unborn child is capable of sustained survival outside of the womb, with or without medical assistance.

So according to SB 1180, an unborn child refers to a living member of the homo sapiens species ~human~ from beginning ~fertilization~ to birth.  

That would be a human child.  So the question remains.  Is a human child a person or property?  Does the answer to that question depend on the location of the child?  Does it depend on the skin pigmentation of the child?  Does it depend on the gender of the child?  Does it depend on the health of the child?

The new law states that “No person shall purposely perform or induce, or attempt to perform or induce, an abortion upon a pregnant woman when the unborn child is viable.”  What follows in the bill are details of how one deems whether the unborn child is viable.    A doctor must assess viability starting at 20 weeks and if the baby is past 24 weeks, the child is protected from being killed.

What does this mean in plain English?  That it is perfectly legal to kill a human child in Tennessee as long as this human child is younger than 20 weeks of gestational age.  A doctor can decide to kill a child until he/she is 24 weeks if the doctor deems that the child is not viable.  After 24 weeks, it is illegal to kill the child unless the mother’s life is in danger ~and who gets to decide this?  The same doctor who is going to kill the child?~  Which makes the whole law null and void.  But, alas, that is an article for another time.

This bill is named The Tennessee Infants Protection Act.  It doesn’t sound like its very effective protection for babies before 20 weeks to me.  

How about you?

Anyone else find it ironic that this law goes into effect just a mere 4 days before our country celebrates it's independence?  

"WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness"

Without Life, there is no Liberty or Pursuit of Happiness.

What do You want from Your Politicians in 2014?

Local TV station WREG posted this question on their FB page, “What new year resolutions would you like to see local politicians make?”  As I looked down through the comments there were many that said “retire” “quit lying” and “work for the people who elected them.”  One was, “take better care of WE THE PEOPLE.”  Some even wanted fiscal responsibility and the impeachment of Obama.  While many of these responses are laudable and I agree with, I wondered how many of these commenters were actually holding their elected officials accountable.  They seem to think that it is the politicians’ responsibility to be honest and responsible when it is actually the other way around.    While it is true that we should seek to elect honest and trustworthy individuals into office, it is up to We the People to make sure that they are once they are elected.  Politicians are like everyone else. They must be held accountable. It is up to us to hold them accountable. How many of us attend city council meetings? Attend committee meetings? It is truly an eye opener. The first MLG&W board meeting that I attended was amazing. The way that they ~our employees~ treated Memphis citizens was shocking. Public servants they are not.

Outside Independence Hall when the Constitutional Convention of 1787 ended, Mrs. Powel of Philadelphia asked Benjamin Franklin, "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" With no hesitation whatsoever, Franklin responded, "A republic, if you can keep it."

It is up to us to keep it. If we want Memphis and our politicians to change, it is up to us to be informed and hold them accountable. Don't be satisfied with what they tell you when they want your vote. Be informed throughout the process.  An example of this is TN Senator Lamar Alexander on the recent budget "deal" that cuts pensions for disabled veterans and negates the slight sequestration savings.  Lamar Alexander is up for reelection this year, so he dutifully voted against it.  The real vote however was for cloture, which he voted for.  So in essence, he can technically say in his campaign ads that he voted against the bill, but the rest of the story is that if he wouldn't have voted for cloture on the bill, ~along with some other wimpy Republicans~ it would not have made it to the vote for passage.

You would be amazed at what one person can accomplish.  That citizen must be informed and pro-active in the political process.  One of the popular quotes that we see around the start a new year is “You must be the change you wish to see in the world” by Gandhi.  We must apply this to the political process as well.  2014 is a big year.  Are you going to be the change that you want to see in Memphis or wherever you live?

If you really want to know how to effectively engage and be proactive, go to the Center for Self Governance.  Their training is invaluable to the citizen activist.  Don’t just leave your future and the future of your kids and grandkids to nameless politicians.  It’s up to us to keep our Republic.  I don’t know about you, but their future is worth it.  

The question isn’t how our politicians are going to change, it’s how are we going to effect change in our politicians.