Minnesota becomes first state to pass abortion protections bill after “Dobbs”
Called the Protect Reproductive Actions (PRO) Act, the bill states that local government cannot restrict a person's ability to exercise the "fundamental right" to reproductive freedom. However, it will have little immediate impact on access to abortion.
The PRO Act, short for Protect Reproductive Actions, establishes that “every individual has a fundamental right to make autonomous decisions about the individual’s own reproductive health” including abortion and contraception. “After last year’s landmark election across this country, we’re the first state to take legislative action to put these protections in place,” Democratic Gov. Tim Walz said
The bill states that local government cannot restrict a person’s ability to exercise the “fundamental right” to reproductive freedom. It also clarifies that this right extends to accessing contraception, sterilization, family planning, fertility services and counseling regarding reproductive health care.
Abortion rights already were protected under a 1995 Minnesota Supreme Court decision that the state Constitution protects abortion rights. A district court judge last summer declared unconstitutional several restrictions that previous legislatures had put in place, including a 24-hour waiting period and a parental notification requirement for minors.
Although the new law will have little immediate further impact on access to abortion in Minnesota, the governor, legislative leaders and sponsors of the bill said it provides a new layer of protection in case the composition of the state courts someday changes, as it did on the U.S. Supreme Court before it struck down Roe v. Wade. Opponents decried the bill as “extreme,” saying that it and other fast-tracked legislation will leave Minnesota with essentially no restrictions on abortion at any stage of pregnancy.
Related: Biden moves to undo rule allowing employers to opt out of contraceptive coverage
As lawmakers across the country reconvene, they are getting their first opportunities to take up key abortion proposals in the six months since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and left the question of whether abortion is legal to the states to determine. Nationwide, scores of bills are in the pipeline that would either expand or restrict access.
Abortion currently is considered illegal at all stages of pregnancy, with various exceptions, in 13 states, including neighboring Wisconsin and South Dakota. Bans in several states, including neighboring North Dakota, remain on hold for the moment, pending court challenges. Because of restrictions elsewhere, Minnesota has seen a surge of pregnant patients coming to the state for abortions.
“Americans overwhelmingly support a woman’s right to make her own health-care decisions, as so clearly demonstrated last fall when voters turned out to defend access to abortion — including for ballot initiatives in California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana and Vermont,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.