Tennessee lawmakers passed the “Heartbeat Bill” in 2020. A Sixth Circuit ruling handed down on Tuesday clears the way for the enforcement of its timing provisions, said TN Atty. Gen. Herbert H. Slattery III. It is now illegal in Tennessee to abort an unborn child who has 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 on track to supersede the Heartbeat Bill in mid-August. Thus, around mid‑August. At that point, Tennessee’s Human Life Protection Act will prohibit the abortion of unborn children after fertilization.