This article was provided by TMA's legal department. For questions, reach out to legal@tnmed.org. 

A federal district court issued a permanent injunction against enforcement of Tennessee’s abortion trafficking of a minor law on July 18, 2025. Previously, a temporary injunction blocked enforcement of part of this law.

The law, enacted in 2024, stated that an adult committed the offense of abortion trafficking of a minor if the adult intentionally recruits, harbors, or transports a pregnant unemancipated minor within this state for the purpose of: (1) Concealing an act that would constitute a criminal abortion under § 39-15-213 from the parents or legal guardian of the pregnant unemancipated minor; (2) Procuring an act that would constitute a criminal abortion under § 39-15-213 for the pregnant unemancipated minor, regardless of where the abortion is to be procured; or (3) Obtaining an abortion-inducing drug for the pregnant unemancipated minor for the purpose of an act that would constitute a criminal abortion under§ 39-15-213, regardless of where the abortion-inducing drug is obtained. It establishes the offense as a Class A misdemeanor. A conviction requires imprisonment for eleven months twenty-nine days.

The law was a tricky read. It seemed to provide an exception for the provision of a medical diagnosis or consultation regarding pregnancy care of an unemancipated minor. However, the trap was in physicians counseling patients on the availability of abortion care or arranging for abortion care outside of the state where abortion is legal. The court’s action on July 18 brings much more clarity regarding a physician’s ability to lawfully counsel a minor as to the availability of lawful abortions in other states where it is legal.