Featured on WSMV: ‘It breaks my heart’; Women consider leaving TN due to abortion ban

Leaving Tennessee after buying a home to settle down in wasn’t a part of Laura Brown’s plan.

“It breaks my heart that I have to leave this place that I have grown up in and loved my whole life,” said Brown.

Brown packs her collection of books from her bookcase into several boxes, getting ready for her move to Virginia. She’s moving because of the recent abortion ban that took effect Thursday-making it illegal to have an abortion.

Her sole purpose for moving is due to the state’s recent abortion ban. She’s been a proud Tennessean for decades graduating from Brentwood High, attending the University of Tennessee at Knoxville for undergrad, and receiving two master’s degrees from MTSU and Vanderbilt University. She says the decision to leave Tennessee became clear after returning from a study abroad trip when the news of the Supreme Court’s leaked draft of Roe v. Wade occurred earlier this year.