Blogs rely on outrageous headlines not facts to sway

Can you get away with writing anything in a headline and get people to believe it? Apparently so. RH Reality and its sister blogs write outrageous headlines and parse their wording in the actual article to support these erroneous headlines and the readers eat it up with a spoon. You can try to post the actual wording of the bill and correct the misrepresentations but to no avail. It appears that headlines are believed! Such was the case with a bill that passed both the House and the Senate in TN by strong majorities.  House-80-18 and Senate 28-2. 

Despite the actual wording of the bill, the headlines scream that women suffering miscarriage could be  criminally prosecuted.  So even the Democrats who stand up during debate and  recite talking points given to them by the abortion industry...most understand the bill and vote to the actual wording. A few who depend heavily on the support of the abortion industry in their upcoming campaigns...make strange arguments saying this will mean the pregnancy testing of all female  crime victims as was attributed to Senator Marrero (D) Memphis causing some in her own party to question  her common sense in the floor debate.

Recommendation....do not just read the headline and before jumping on the outrage bandwagon, it is best to read the bill.  

*HB 3517 by *Evans, Rich, Dean, Faison, Miller D, Butt. (SB 3412 by *Beavers, Bell, Gresham, Roberts.)

Criminal Offenses - As introduced, revises definitions of fetus as victim for criminal homicide and assaults to remove viability requirement and include an embryo; revises legislative intent statement. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 13.

Bill Summary

Under present law, the victim of an assaultive offense or a homicide includes a fetus of a human being, regardless of viability of the fetus, when any such term refers to the victim of any act made criminal by the provisions governing such offenses, and when at the time of the criminal act the victim was pregnant. It is the legislative intent that such provision in no way affect abortion, and such provision may not apply to acts that are committed pursuant to usual and customary standards of medical practice during diagnostic or therapeutic treatment.

This bill rewrites the above provisions. This bill instead specifies that the victim of an assaultive offense or a homicide includes a human embryo or fetus at any stage of gestation in utero, when any such term refers to the victim of any act made criminal by the provisions governing such offenses, and when at the time of the criminal act the victim was pregnant. This provision would not apply to any act or omission by a pregnant woman with respect to an embryo or fetus with which she is pregnant, or to any lawful medical or surgical procedure to which a pregnant woman consents, performed by a health care professional who is licensed to perform such procedure.