‘We have to flip seats’: Planned Parenthood hopes change will come in November

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — It’s no secret that Tennessee has one of the strictest abortion laws on the books.

Planned Parenthood is launching what they are calling a campaign aimed at reshaping policy, starting with legislators. On Monday, the organization held a press conference at the state Capitol. There, they announced that the organization is focusing on voting out who they call ‘anti-abortion’ state legislators during the general election.

“It’s going to take new tactics to restore balance in the state of Tennessee,” Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood board member John Spragens said. “We have to flip some seats.”

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The general assembly has long been a Republican majority, in both the Senate and the House.

“Stopping the supermajority in Tennessee is not going to be easy,” CEO of TN Advocates of Planned Parenthood Ashley Coffield said. “We have a plan this year to flip four seats and three after that — so we break the supermajority before redistricting in 2030.”

The organization explained that they have tripled their investment using phone banks, canvassing, and paid communications. In total, that came out to about $1 million. Coffield stated the organization has never spent this much money on an initiative like this. The majority of the initiative is focused on November voters.

“Tennessee is not an anti-abortion state. We are a non-voting state,” TAPP campaign director Melisa Sauter said. “We were 50th in voter turnout in the 2022 election, but the good news is the only way we have to go from there is up.”

As of publication, in Tennessee, abortion is illegal at any stage of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape or incest. A physician who performs an abortion to save the life or physical well-being of the mother could be charged with a felony unless they are able to affirmatively prove the mother was at risk.

Tennessee is the only state in the country with such a requirement.

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“Tennessee has a total ban on abortion with meager exceptions,” Coffield said. “The Republican supermajority is totally opposed to reproductive freedom.”

Metro Councilmember at large Delishia Porterfield said that some Tennesseans do support reproductive justice, but representatives are not voting accordingly.

“The only way that we can actually have a chance at true reproductive justice and freedom and get abortion rights back in the state of Tennessee is to flip seats,” Porterfield said.

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