State should
issue death certificates for abortions, lawmaker says

Tennessee would issue death certificates for aborted fetuses under a bill introduced in the general assembly.

The move would help track how many abortions are performed in the state, said Rep. Stacey Campfield, who introduced the bill. But it also could create a public record of which women are having abortions.

''All these people who say they are pro-life--at least we would see how many lives are being ended out there by abortions,'' Campfield said.

The measure would give abortion providers 10 days after an abortion to file a death certificate with the state Office of Vital Records.

Tennessee law already requires abortions to be reported to the Office of Vital Records, but the identities of women having abortions are not included. Death certificates require identifying information like Social Security numbers.

House judiciary committee chairman Rob Briley called the proposal ''the most preposterous bill I've seen in eight years in the legislature.''

Officials with Planned Parenthood and the state Department of Health, which oversees the Office of Vital Records, did not immediately return calls seeking reaction. (Erik Schelzig, AP)