Congressman Cohen Condemns Overnight Passage of Draconian Abortion Bill
Overnight debate uses women’s bodies as bargaining chip to pass budget
MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a 24-year member of the Tennessee State Senate, today condemned the Tennessee General Assembly for making passage of a draconian abortion bill the bargaining chip needed to pass a state budget. The measure was passed in the early hours of Friday morning.
Congressman Cohen made the following statement:
"Overnight Thursday into Friday morning's early hours, I was increasingly disturbed to see the Tennessee State Senate in which I once served use passage of a draconian abortion bill as leverage to pass a budget on which members were at an impasse. Women's health and a woman's right to choose should not be used as a bargaining chip to pass a budget. The Tennessee General Assembly was not perfect when I served from 1982 to 2006, but there were older members with consciences and intellect who kept most issues between the goal posts and usually kept Tennessee from being embarrassed. Now there seem to be very few, if any, who care about individual rights unless it relates to guns, and they consistently pass bills that give our General Assembly a deservedly bad reputation. As if that weren't enough, the Tennessee House then went on to pass a resolution stating that the mainstream media ‘sensationalized' the coronavirus pandemic, even as cases rise."