Minnesota House Passes Bill Making Abortion Access State Law

(KNSI) — The Minnesota House is advancing a bill to make the right to an abortion state law, but critics say it opens the door to partial birth abortions and infanticide.

The House approved the Protect Reproductive Options Act 69-65 last night after more than four hours of debate, with one Democrat and all Republicans voting against it. As of publication, the voting record for the bill was unavailable, but in a press conference, House Speaker Melissa Hortman mentioned pro-life Democrats in more rural areas of the state.

“I know that not every positive pregnancy test is a celebration and not every ultrasound appointment ends with good news. And I, as a politician, have no business making that decision for someone else,” said Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn (DFL-Eden Prairie), the bill sponsor.

Abortion was already legal under the Minnesota Supreme Court’s 1995 ruling of Doe versus Gomez, but making it law would prevent it from being overturned by a conservative court later.

House Minority Leader Republican Representative Lisa Demuth of Cold Spring slammed the passing of the bill calling it horrifying and extreme, saying in a statement, “Today we heard in horrifying detail just how extreme Democrats are on the issue of abortion. The standard used to be ‘safe, legal, and rare’ but instead, with this bill, Democrats proved they are only concerned about abortion being legal in all circumstances and at all points. And they certainly do not care about it being safe. Republicans offered reasonable amendments that provided guardrails to protect women and children, including requiring abortion facilities to be licensed and requiring late term abortions to be performed in a hospital, and those amendments were rejected. This isn’t about codifying abortion rights anymore-this puts the health of women and children at risk. This is extreme, horrific, and out of line with what the majority of Minnesotans want.”

Amendments requiring licensure of abortion facilities and banning third trimester abortions were among those failing to garner enough votes and were not adopted.

The bill moves to the Senate, where Democratic party leaders say there is a “pro-choice majority.” The Senate must approve the bill within a week to get the signature of Governor Tim Walz, who said he would be “happy” to sign abortion into state law.

The Minnesota March for Life is Sunday, January 22nd, at 2:00 p.m. at the State Capitol in St. Paul. Organizers tell KNSI they are preparing for a big turnout after the passage of this bill by the House.

More extreme bills introduced in the House and Senate would strip away what abortion advocates call “restrictions” to abortion access, including a 24 hour waiting period, parental notification for a minor seeking an abortion, the reporting requirement for women injured or killed during an abortion, the Born Alive Infant Act, which would remove the requirement that a baby born alive during an abortion attempt be considered a human being and the requirement for life-saving measures to be taken. It also would not require abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy to be done in a hospital by a physician, nor would it require licensure for abortion facilities.

___