The 110th General Assembly ended on April 26, 2018. This was a tough year for advocates of reproductive health, rights, and justice. Once again, Tennessee made national news for the Tennessee legislature’s shameful and extreme tactics, which this year included a bill to erect a monument to abortion “victims,” and defunding clinics that provide abortions from TennCare. Healthy and Free Tennessee was mostly in defense mode again on the hill, mobilizing our supporters to call and email their legislators.

Healthy and Free Tennessee is excited to announce that our 2nd annual statewide convening will take place October 5-6, 2018 in Nashville, TN at Tennessee State University, Avon Williams Campus (330 10th Ave. N., Nashville, TN 37203). Our statewide convening is a gathering for progressives that centers reproductive health, rights, and justice and movement building in Tennessee. Last year, the first convening brought together over 130 people from different parts of the state and country, and we were honored to have Loretta Ross as our keynote speaker.

In the United States, Black women are four times more likely to die in childbirth or of pregnancy-related causes than White women. To draw attention to this shocking fact, advocates across the country and here in Tennessee are participating in Black Maternal Health Week this week.  

A national shame, the United States is the only developed country with a rising maternal mortality rate, largely driven by racial disparities. Research suggests that half of these deaths may be preventable. This is a human rights crisis.

Healthy & Free Tennessee is excited to be accepting nominations (due Oct 8) and applications (due Oct 22) to serve on our Steering Committee. We are looking for extraordinary people in Tennessee who are volunteer activists, committed advocates, and/or professionals working in the fields of sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice as well as people involved in environmental protection, immigration rights, racial justice, and other areas of human rights that understand the intersection of this work with reproductive freedom and sexual health.