Tennessee Republicans have killed HB2603, a bill written by Rep. Gloria Johnson, which would have granted an exception to that state’s ban on abortion for children under the age of 13 who have been the victims of rape. 

“A ten-year-old girl should never have to carry her rapist’s baby – yet that’s exactly what would happen here under Tennessee’s forced birth regime,” Johnson said in a post on X. 

“I asked for a roll call vote and every Republican voted against allowing 12 year olds and under to have an abortion. In other words, voted to force 12 and under to carry their rapist’s baby.”

The bill failed to advance out of the House Population Health Subcommittee, with all five Republicans on the committee voting no. Republican members pressed Johnson on the possibility that the bill could allow for abortion in later months of pregnancy.

Rep. Andrew Farmer said, “For you to stand there and tell this committee that there aren’t people that are sick enough in this world to abort a child at eight months, it’s happening.”

Johnson responded, “you think 12-year-olds are this devious?”

After the vote, forced birth organization Tennessee Right to Life sent an email to members calling Johnson an “abortion activist”, saying her bill created an exception “based on the mother’s age,” and was designed to allow babies to be “aborted up until the day of birth.”

Tennessee’s abortion ban provides zero exceptions for rape or incest. Republicans in that state want women, and even children under the age of 13 to be forced to carry their rapists baby to term. 

Similar debates on rape exceptions for children recently took place in Missouri, where MAGA Republican gubernatorial candidate Sen. Bill Eigel told Democrat Doug Beck, the author of a child rape exception amendment in that state, that Democrats wanted 1-year-olds to be able to get an abortion.

“I don’t know that a 1-year-old could get pregnant, Senator,” Beck responded.

Johnson made headlines as a member of the “Tennessee Three”, along with Reps. Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, for leading a protest against Tennessee’s lax gun laws from the floor of the House chamber following a mass shooting in Nashville. Jones and Pearson, who are black, were expelled from the House but won their seats back in special elections, while Johnson, who is white, escaped expulsion by one vote.

Johnson is running for U.S. Senate against MAGA Republican Marsha Blackburn.