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Pro-Choice Rally
On Saturday, Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order that protects people who travel to Minnesota in order to get an abortion, as well as those assisting or providing abortions, one day after the Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“My office has been and will continue to be a firewall against legislation that would reverse reproductive freedom,” the governor said in a statement. “This order shows our administration's commitment to protecting patients and health care providers.”
Immediately going into effect, the executive order directs Minnesota agencies not to assist other states attempting to seek civil or criminal liability or professional sanctions against anyone searching, providing, or obtaining legal abortion services in Minnesota. According to the order: “no state agency may provide any information or expend or use time, money, facilities, property, equipment, personnel, or other resources in furtherance of any investigation or proceeding.” Gov. Walz also said he would not extradite people accused of committing abortion-related acts that are legal in Minnesota.
The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization holds that the U.S. Constitution does not confer any right to abortion—overturning almost 50 years of precedent established with Roe v. Wade in a 6-3 decision.
Meanwhile, abortion is protected by Minnesota’s state constitution, making the state a destination for people seeking an abortion in the Upper Midwest. In 1995, Minnesota’s Supreme Court ruled to protect the right to an abortion in the case Doe v. Gomez, which also allowed people with low-income to use state assistance to pay for the service. Every state that borders Minnesota had laws set in place that either triggered an abortion ban or will reduce abortion services after Roe v. Wade was overruled.
But that doesn’t mean abortion services in Minnesota were accessible before Roe v. Wade was overturned. Currently, Minnesota only has eight clinics that provide abortions in the entire state—the majority of which are located around the Twin Cities metro and offer abortions only through the first trimester of pregnancy.
According to the Minnesota Department of Health, about 10 percent of abortion patients in Minnesota come from neighboring states. With Roe v. Wade overturned, Planned Parenthood experts expect that the number of out-of-state abortion seekers could increase to as high as 25 percent.
“We will not give up. We will not back down. We will continue working to protect women’s access to care. And we will use our voices to make one thing loud and clear: we will not settle for a reality in which our daughters have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar said in a statement.
Sen. Tina Smith, the only U.S. senator to have worked at Planned Parenthood, where she was the executive vice president for external affairs, penned an op-ed in the New York Times along with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. “We both lived in an America where abortion was illegal. A nation in which infections and other complications destroyed lives. A nation in which unplanned pregnancies derailed careers and livelihoods. A nation in which some women took their own lives rather than continue pregnancies they could not bear,” it reads.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison pledged not to prosecute anyone who comes to the state to get an abortion, or who assists with or performs abortion services. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers also said he'd grant clemency to doctors charged under the state's law that bans nearly all abortions except if necessary to save the mother's life, which dates back to 1849.
“Let’s be clear: This decision is a blow to everyone who believes in the 14th amendment and to anyone who believes there are limits to how much the government can control the decisions we make in our private lives,” Rep. Ilhan Omar said in a statement, while also calling on the court to be reformed. “Tragically, we know this decision will fall hardest on the most vulnerable such as women who have been abused, who are victims of incest, who have been raped, and those who are already struggling to put food on the table.”
The GOP-endorsed candidate for Minnesota governor Scott Jensen previously said on WCCO Radio he would completely ban abortions in the state, including in cases of rape or incest. Jensen said the only exception for abortions would be if the child bearer’s life was in danger.
Minnesota GOP Chairman David Hann echoed that sentiment. “This is a tremendous victory for the U.S. Constitution, the rule of law, and the sanctity of life. It was widely accepted that Roe v. Wade was deeply flawed on constitutional grounds. As Republicans, our party has always stood for human rights, including those of the unborn. With today’s rulings, the Supreme Court returned to the states and the people their rightful authority to govern themselves and protect the unborn.”
