The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Tennessee filed a lawsuit against a Nashville suburb on Wednesday to stop a zoning ordinance that effectively bans surgical abortions within the city limits.

Two days after the opening of Carafem, the only abortion clinic within the city limits of Mt. Juliet, the Mt. Juliet Board of Commissioners introduced Ordinance 2019-16, which effectively prevents Carafem from providing surgical abortions. The ordinance was unanimously approved in April.

Prior to the passage of Ordinance 2019-16, several members of the board and other city officials made public statements in which they emphasized their disapproval of Careform and the services that it provided. City Commissoner and Vice Mayor James Maness stated, “I am pro-life. The taking of innocent life is called murder. Abortion is not a matter of choice, it’s a matter of life and how we value life.”

In its lawsuit, Carafem, represented by the ACLU of Tennessee, claims that Ordinance 2016-19 violates both the Equal Protection Clause and the Due Process Clause of the Constitution. As it relates to the Equal Protection Clause claim, plaintiffs argue that the ordinance targets a specific type of surgical procedure—surgical abortions. However, other surgical procedures are performed in the same building as Carafem’s Mt. Juliet office. Thus, denying women the right to have such medical procedures is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause. In terms of the Due Process Clause claim, the plaintiffs argue that the ordinance is burdensome on women in Mt. Juliet who are seeking surgical abortion care. In addition, the complaint states that the ordinance is an arbitrary, capricious and discriminatory zoning regulation that has no direct correlation to public health or safety. Thus, this ordinance violates the Due Process Clause of the Constitution.

This lawsuit comes as the Tennessee General Assembly is considering a bill that would ban abortion at the time a woman is scientifically able to determine she is pregnant.