Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III announced Friday that the constitutionality of Tennessee’s 48-hour waiting period for abortions is no longer subject to question. The opportunity for the plaintiffs to seek further review from the U.S. Supreme Court has passed, so the Sixth Circuit’s ruling stands and the legal battle is over.
More than six years ago, a group of abortion providers challenged the statutory waiting period, alleging that it violated a woman’s right to have an abortion. In August of this year the full Court upheld Tennessee’s waiting-period, concluding that it “is facially constitutional” because it is “supported by a rational basis” and “is not a substantial obstacle to abortion for a large fraction of women seeking pre-viability abortions in Tennessee.”