Abortion Rally at Minnesota State Capitol on July 18th, 2022 (CBS, provided)
ST. PAUL, MN (KFGO) – The Minnesota Senate voted early Saturday after a marathon debate to write broad protections for abortion rights into state statutes, which would make it difficult for future courts to roll back.
Democratic legislative leaders have fast-tracked the bill as one of their top priorities for the 2023 session — in reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last summer to reverse Roe v. Wade. While a 1995 Minnesota Supreme Court decision known as Doe v. Gomez held that the state constitution protects abortion rights, sponsors want to make sure that those protections remain in force no matter who sits on future courts. Hundreds of people packed the halls outside the Senate chamber on Friday ahead of the debate, which ended with a 34-33 party-line vote around 3 a.m. Saturday to send the bill to Democratic Gov. Tim Walz for his signature. Abortion rights supporters chanted, “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Abortion bans have got to go,” while opponents sang the hymn “Amazing Grace.”
The authors have dubbed the bill the “PRO Act,” short for “Protect Reproductive Actions.” It would establish that “every individual has a fundamental right to make autonomous decisions about the individual’s own reproductive health” including abortion and contraception.
Walz hopes to sign it before the end of the month. The House passed it last week 69-65 with all Republicans opposed. Rep. Gene Pelowski, of Winona, was the only Democrat to vote no.
Senate Democratic leaders said ahead of Friday’s debate that they had the votes to send it to the governor. They hold only a one-seat majority so they couldn’t afford to lose a single vote, but party discipline held firm on procedural votes and dozens of amendments.
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