Amendment 1 was passed on Nov 6 2014 with a 52.6% approval. The amendment has not changed women’s rights. It has opened the door to discuss certain aspects of abortion, such as regulating the sanitary condition of clinics and enforcing informed consent.

Informed consent is when a patient grants permission with knowledge of the possible consequences told to them by a doctor. It provides knowledge of all the possible risks and benefits. Informed consent is already required in other medical facilities. It is a measure that ensures correct liability and prevents medical malpractice.

The passage of Amendment 1 does not, in any way, prevent any woman from obtaining an abortion. It is not possible for states to ban abortion. Our Federal Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional in the Roe v. Wade decision. Despite this fact, the “Vote No on 1” campaign still states on their website that “Amendment 1 could even ban abortion without exceptions.”  Until the Supreme Court rules otherwise, abortion remains legal. Tennessee will not ban abortion.

With the current legislation regarding abortions in Tennessee, a woman could hypothetically walk in off the street and have an abortion performed within the same day. The passage of Amendment 1 now introduces the possibility of consideration for a waiting period where a woman can think over the procedure with full knowledge of any risks before having it performed.

However, women across Tennessee felt that their reproductive rights were being called into question due to the passage of the amendment. The phrase “my body, my choice” is a popular chant heard in the crowds of protests for women’s’ reproductive rights. However, it is still their choice.

Amendment 1 seeks to gives women information and time to understand abortions. Abortions can, and do, affect women emotionally and physically.

Women who have become pregnant as a result of rape or in situations where the pregnancy is life-threatening may need an abortion. However, about 1% of women who get an abortion are victims of these types of cases.

Should a woman follow through with a decision to have the abortion, she can be assured the facility would be clean and have emergency equipment should it be necessary to help her. Amendment 1 allows for sanitation requirements to be enforced in abortion clinics. In the future, they may be required to meet stricter health standards.

Regardless of religious beliefs, some premature babies can be born and live outside of the womb, and in the court system, should a woman get stabbed and her child die as well, it is considered a double homicide, regardless of the child’s stage of development.

Amendment 1 opens the door for more discussion regarding the nuances of getting an abortion. It means that the state can now consider the possibility of a ban on abortion, but only past a certain stage of development.

“We want our constitution to go back to neutral on the issue of abortion, so we can pass some common sense regulations to protect mothers and children” said Leslie Hunse, the education director for Tennessee Right to Life.

While it is most definitely not the government’s job to interfere in the personal lives of women, a more cautious approach should be taken when a woman’s choice terminates another potential life.

As the famous Dr. Seuss once said in his children’s book “Horton Hears a Who,” “even though you can’t see them or hear them at all, a person’s a person no matter how small.”