Tennessee lawmakers passed the “Heartbeat Bill” in 2020. On Tuesday, the full U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals cleared the way for the enforcement of its timing provisions. According to state Atty. Gen. Herbert H. Slatery III, it is now illegal in Tennessee to abort an unborn child with a heartbeat. Specifically, the Heartbeat Bill applies to unborn children at 6 weeks gestational age who have a heartbeat, and unborn children at 8 weeks gestational age or older. A separate statute (Tennessee’s Human Life Protection Act, generally known as the Trigger Act), is projected to become effective in mid-August, superseding the Heartbeat Bill. At that point, Tennessee’s Human Life Protection Act will prohibit the abortion of unborn children after fertilization.