Lawmakers in the Minnesota House passed an extreme abortion rights bill last Thursday with a 69-65 vote. Rep. Gene Pelowski was the only Democrat who opposed the bill.
The Protect Reproductive Options Act establishes a “fundamental right” to abortion in state law, allowing abortion up until birth for any reason. The bill intends to solidify the “right” to abortion established by the 1995 Supreme Court case, Doe v. Gomez. Supporters argue that it would be a “secondary defense” should the state court ever overturn Doe v. Gomez.
“The extremism of this bill would put Minnesota in the same category as just seven countries in the world, among them North Korea and China,” Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life Co-Executive Director Cathy Blaeser previously said. “This bill means a ‘right’ to abort any baby for any reason at any time until birth. Women and children deserve so much better.”
The bill would also prohibit any local jurisdictions from creating their own laws that protect preborn children in any way, clearly targeting Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn ordinances enacted in various cities across the nation.
House Republicans strongly objected to the fact that the bill has no restrictions on when abortion can be committed. Amendments that would protect preborn children in the third trimester and require licensing of abortion facilities were proposed but failed to pass.
“We think that there are really reasonable things that we can do to put some guardrails on this issue, but right now the Democrats and what we are passing tonight out of the Minnesota House of Representatives is the most extreme position on abortion on the world stage,” said Rep. Anne Neu Brindley.
“There has to be a point where some humanity kicks in for us. There has to be a point where we can all look around and say this — this is particularly disturbing,” Brindley also stated.
“This is a very extreme bill, the most extreme abortion bill in the U.S.,” said Rep. Jim Nash.
“It is infanticide. I ask you to allow those babies to have a great start in Minnesota and that great start starts in the womb,” added Rep. Mary Franson.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where Democrats have a 34-33 majority. If it passes, Governor Tim Walz is expected to sign it into law.
