Court: Tennessee Can Enforce Ban on Abortions Because of Down Syndrome Diagnoses

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee takes part in a discussion on state-level criminal justice reform in Nashville, Tenn., on April 17, 2019. Mark Humphrey/AP Photo

A federal court on Friday ruled that the state of Tennessee can enforce a ban on abortions because of diagnoses of Down syndrome, or because of the race or gender of the unborn baby.

The so-called “reason bans” were signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, in July as part of a larger abortion bill, but the legislation was immediately blocked by a lower court.