Tennessee Gubernatorial Candidate Wants Death Penalty for Abortion Patients

2.18.26

Click to skip ahead: Gubernatorial Candidate Wants Death Penalty for Abortion Patients; Media Catches on to Catch Kit Bills; In the States: Wyoming, Arizona, Kansas, Texas, Kentucky; In Better News: Washington, Iowa, New Hampshire & More; A Massive Amicus Brief Push to Ban Telehealth Abortion; Kentucky’s ‘Pro-Life’ Prosecutor Speaks

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Gubernatorial Candidate Wants Death Penalty for Abortion Patients

A Republican gubernatorial candidate in Tennessee is openly calling for the execution of women who have abortions. Because of course he is.

At a Washington County Republican Party meeting last year, Rep. Monty Fritts said, “If you kill a baby from embryo on up with a pill or a scalpel, we outta execute you.” (TN Repro News uncovered that gem last month—you should follow them if you don’t already.)

When a TN Holler reporter asked Fritts about the comments a few weeks ago, the state lawmaker doubled down—making clear he wasn’t just talking about abortion providers, but patients. “Murder is murder. I know that’s hard for people to hear,” he said.

And let’s be clear, this is something he’s obviously passionate about. Because when asked if he’d push for such punishment as governor, Fritts replied that Tennessee voters might even see legislation from him while he’s a state lawmaker.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: their extremism is getting more explicit by the day. Punishing women—which used to be an untouchable issue within the anti-abortion movement—is now being discussed freely.

In the past year, ‘equal protection’ legislation that would punish abortion patients as murderers has been introduced in over a dozen states. These are bills that could mean execution or life in prison for ending your pregnancy. (As you can imagine, the lobbying group behind the legislation is led by some of the craziest misogynists around.)

And though Republicans have long distanced themselves from these bills—painting them as the fringe moves of a few unrepresentative lawmakers—the legislative trend is gaining steam every session. We’re tracking more bills, more co-sponsors—and more lawmakers like Fritts willing to say what was once unthinkable out loud.

Right now, the Texas Republican Party platform includes a call for ‘equal protection’ laws. Shit, even lawmakers in ultra-pro-choice Illinois have introduced an equal protection bill! And despite public statements to the contrary, ‘mainstream’ anti-abortion groups like Students for Life and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America have started to drop hints that they’re open to punishing women, as well.

All of which is to say, we need to stop treating these men like they’re outliers. They’re not. They’re the future of the anti-abortion movement.

Media Catches on to Catch Kit Bills

Speaking of off-the-wall extremism, let’s check in on Catch Kit bills. Sold as “clean water” protections, these bills would force abortion and miscarriage patients to collect and bag up their blood and pregnancy remains like medical waste instead of simply flushing them.

In fact, some of the legislation introduced would make it a crime to flush pregnancy remains.

Abortion, Every Day has been tracking this strategy for years, so we’re thrilled to see mainstream outlets slowly but surely catching on: Bloomberg Law has a big article on the tactic this week.

Here’s the thing: it’s clear that these bills show no sign of slowing. And with the cultural explosion of MAHA bullshit, the anti-abortion movement is working hard to frame the legislation as an effort to protect the environment, our drinking water, and men’s fertility. (Seriously.) That’s why it’s so vital that abortion rights activists, legislators, and organizations are reminding Americans what these bills are really about: punishing women for daring to have abortions in the comfort of their own home.

If they can’t force patients to go through a gauntlet of harassment at clinics, conservatives want women humiliated with “catch kits.” That’s the term we should be using—and the image we should be searing in voters’ minds again and again.

In the States: Wyoming, Arizona, Kansas, Texas, Kentucky

Wyoming Republicans are advancing a “heartbeat ban” despite a recent ruling from the state Supreme Court protecting abortion access. Remember: the court struck down two bans, ruling that they violate the state constitution, which protects people’s right to make their own healthcare decisions. Most importantly, the judges made clear that abortion is healthcare.

We told you about this bill last week: Essentially, it’s part of a series of crybaby moves by the state GOP, who are furious over that court ruling. In addition to the near-total ban (HB 126), Republicans are also pushing so-called “informed consent” legislation (HB 117) that would require doctors to give abortion patients biased and inflammatory information before providing care.

The GOP even tried to find a way to sidestep the state Supreme Court: they wanted to put a ballot measure in front of voters that, if passed, would allow legislators to define what counts as healthcare. (Abortion, obviously, would not be on their list.)

That ballot measure effort failed, but the ‘heartbeat’ ban advanced out of committee this week. Here’s the kicker: Speaker of the House Rep. Chip Neiman says the ban is Republicans’ attempt at a middle ground.

“We’re trying to find some place here that is palatable for everyone involved, but not throwing Wyoming’s gates wide open to unlimited abortion,” he said.

Most ‘heartbeat’ laws have been enforced at around 6 weeks, even though embryos don’t even have a heart—let alone a heartbeat—at that stage of pregnancy. Does that sound like a compromise to you?

“Hypocrisy alert: the party that preaches personal liberty and small government does a 180 when it comes to women. It’s a power grab. They demand complete hegemony, not only of your body, but your mailbox, too.” - Paula Kaufman at West Virginia Watch on the state Senate’s passage of SB 173

Over a year after Arizona voters enshrined abortion protections in the state constitution, Democrats are calling on GOP lawmakers to respect this mandate and withdraw their slate of extreme, anti-abortion bills.

Republicans haven’t just introduced bills that would restrict abortion pills and make it impossible for doctors to talk to patients about abortion—they’ve also pushed legislation that would codify fetal personhood by mandating child support for “preborn children,” which could clear the way for a total abortion ban and the criminalization of providers and patients.

With midterms on the horizon and the state’s pro-choice governor and attorney general up for reelection, Athena Salman, the head of the Arizona branch of Reproductive Freedom for All, has this important reminder:

“In 2024, Prop. 139 got the most votes on the ballot. It got more votes than any statewide candidate or any other proposition and won every single legislative district in the state. It got the most ‘yes’ votes in Arizona history. Yet Republican politicians at the capitol are refusing to accept that reality. They are blatantly ignoring the will of the people.”

Speaking of Republican attacks on democracy: Kansas voters decisively rejected an anti-abortion ballot measure in 2022, but that hasn’t stopped Republicans in the state from continually attacking reproductive rights.

The legislature is weighing several new anti-abortion bills: HB 2729 is an “informed consent” bill that forces doctors to relay biased and inaccurate information about abortion. And HB 2727 would encourage women to sue abortion providers for up to $5,000 if their doctors fail to spew anti-abortion propaganda about the ‘dangers’ of abortion pills.

That legislation is similar to an Ohio bill being debated right now—and is meant to erode trust between doctors and patients, intimidate doctors against providing abortion, and spread disinformation about abortion pills.

All eyes on Texas: This Thursday, an appeals court will hear arguments in the state’s case against midwife Maria Margarita Rojas. Rojas was the first person charged under Texas’ criminal abortion law; she was indicted on 15 felony counts for allegedly providing two abortions. Since then, eight other people have been arrested in connection—even though experts say there’s very little evidence in the case.

We’ll have more for you after the hearing, but in the meantime read our past coverage here, here, and below:

BREAKING: Texas Midwife Arrested on Felony Abortion Charges

Finally, let’s talk about Kentucky, where Republicans are pushing legislation that would classify abortion pills a controlled substance. As Kylie noted last week, the bill (HB 646) is super bizarre: it likens abortion pills to “assisted suicide [and] euthanasia,” and would make “marketing” abortion medication illegal. But it’s not just the bill we’re worried about—it’s the absolute batshit language Republicans and anti-abortion activists are using in support of the legislation.

In a form letter being sent to state legislators, constituents are slamming the “abortion cartel” and “the proliferation of the abortion death pill.” The letter also describes HB 646 as an effort “to create new penalties for abortion death pill traffickers.”

Here’s the upside: if there are any teenagers in Kentucky looking to start a band in their garage, Abortion Death Pill, Abortion Cartel, and Death Pill Traffickers would all make terrific names.

In Better News: Washington, Iowa, New Hampshire & More

Here’s something exciting: remember how Washington was going to destroy a stockpile of abortion pills that were nearing expiration? Well, the state Senate just passed a bill that could allow the state to instead dispense the 30,000 doses.

The Spokesman Review reports that the legislation would remove a requirement that the state sell the pills at the same cost it was purchased. Instead, state leaders could get any amount of money for medication they distribute to healthcare providers—paving the way for the pills to be used before their expiration date.

That would be amazing. As you know, abortion pills are crucial in post-Roe America: two-thirds of abortions are provided with medication, and nearly 30% are provided via telehealth. So every bit of medication matters, and we’re thrilled to see Washington leaders take action.

The bill now heads to the state House, and we’ll keep you updated about what happens next.

In some rare good news out of Iowa, Republicans’ attempt to pass a total abortion ban is dead in the water! Remember, abortion is illegal in Iowa after 6 weeks—but the GOP is desperate to do away even with the tiny bit of access that remains.

Lawmakers were set to have a subcommittee hearing on House File 2332 on Tuesday, but bill sponsor Rep. Jon Dunwell told the Des Moines Register that the legislation didn’t have the support it needed to move forward:

“It’s not going to happen this year. So as I kind of worked through and realized this didn’t have the caucus where it needed to be at this point, I decided to kind of refocus our resources and our efforts upon some other life initiatives.”

Cue the world’s tiniest violin. 🎻

New Hampshire lawmakers are weighing a mixed bag of bills—including one that would repeal buffer zones. But we’re going to save that shitty legislation for tomorrow and focus on the positive for now: lawmakers are considering a shield law bill (SB 551) that would protect New Hampshire abortion providers from civil suits and criminal prosecution.

This is a big deal because New Hampshire is the only state in New England without such protections. Democratic state Sen. Debra Altschiller also notes that passing a shield law could help address the state’s lack of OBGYNs, incentivizing more to come to the state by establishing stronger protections:

“We don’t have enough OB-GYNs here in New Hampshire and we have a very limited number of people training to be OB-GYNs. We are surrounded by states that protect their providers. How on earth do we expect to recruit young talent to this state if we won’t tell them we’ll have their back?”

At a time when states like Texas and Louisiana are doggedly pursuing abortion providers from other states, legislation like this has never been more important.

Some other good news: Planned Parenthood centers in Massachusetts are now offering vasectomies, and the Philadelphia Midwife Collective in Pennsylvania is opening the city’s only birth center, which you can learn more about in the Philly Voice.

A Massive Amicus Brief Push to Ban Telehealth Abortion

Louisiana’s suit against the FDA over mifepristone just got a whole lot more support. Alliance Defending Freedom—the powerhouse legal group that helped take down Roe—announced this week that 21 states, 60 members of Congress, and 58 anti-abortion groups and activists have filed friend-of-the-court briefs in support of the case.

A refresher: Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill brought a suit against the FDA in an attempt to restrict abortion pills—and telehealth access, specifically. That’s because telemedicine now accounts for nearly 30% of abortions in the U.S. and almost all abortions in banned states. Murrill, like every other Republican these days, also claims that abortion pills enable abusers.

Some of the organizations that filed briefs in support of Louisiana include the Ethics and Public Policy Center (the group that released the bogus mifepristone study), Students for Life (which makes the expected abortion-in-the-water argument), and the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (the ‘medical’ group that doesn’t believe in life-saving abortions).

We’re taking a close look at all of the briefs—because we expect that they’ll reveal some interesting things about anti-abortion strategy. And, let’s be honest, they’re sure to have some banger quotes.

Kentucky’s ‘Pro-Life’ Prosecutor Speaks

Remember the Kentucky woman charged with ‘fetal homicide’ over an alleged self-managed abortion last month? Prosecutors ultimately dropped that charge against Melinda Spencer, but are still going after her for concealing the birth of an infant, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with physical evidence.

For the first time since dropping the fetal homicide charge, self-identified “pro-life” prosecutor Miranda King has spoken out, telling the Lexington Herald-Leader, “When we looked at [the charges] for the grand jury, we took a more intense look at it, and we realized we were unable to prove it.”

She declined to elaborate further, but the timeline of how King went about the charges is…interesting. As the Lexington Herald-Leader points out, the prosecutor bypassed a lower court to obtain a direct indictment against Spencer—deliberately speeding up the process.

That doesn’t just demonstrate a real eagerness to criminalize—it also raises the question of whether King was trying to fast-track the case in the hopes no one would notice. Because surely she knew that state law prohibits charging abortion patients for ending their pregnancies. Isn’t that her job?

King also seemed downright disappointed that she couldn’t move forward with the case, saying at the time:

“I sought this job with the intention of being a pro-life prosecutor but must do so within the boundaries allowed by the Kentucky State law I’m sworn to defend. I will prosecute the remaining lawful charges [against Spencer] fully and fairly.”

We saw similar comments from a Georgia prosecutor who, after public outrage, was forced to drop his case against a young woman arrested for how she disposed of miscarriage remains. (Tift County District Attorney Patrick Warren called her actions “distressing,” but said the charges weren’t “legally sustainable.”)

Unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated case in Kentucky: just last week, we told you about a couple in the state arrested over a 2024 miscarriage.

We’re keeping a close eye on these cases and others as pregnancy criminalization arrests and investigations pile up across the country. If you want to help, please consider donating to organizations like Pregnancy Justice and If/When/How, or supporting our reporting efforts by becoming a paying member or gifting a subscription to a friend.