AG: Disposing embryos outside uterus not against Tenn. law

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A recent state attorney general opinion says Tennessee’s strict abortion ban does not apply to the disposal of fertilized human embryos that haven’t been transferred to a uterus. The determination is among the first issued by an attorney general that provides insight on how laws heavily restricting abortion affect those seeking in vitro fertilization, or IVF, since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion. The two-page document was quietly published on the attorney general’s website on Oct. 20 at the request of Tennessee’s Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, a Republican currently seeking reelection.