Forced by a state Supreme Court decision years ago to pay for elective abortions, taxpayers in Minnesota were forced to pay for nearly 4,000 abortions in 2009, or about one-third of all abortions done that year.
Its aggressive promotion of taxpayer-funded abortions is enriching the abortion industry with increased numbers and revenue, complained Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life about the high court’s decision. It points to a just-released report from the Minnesota Department of Human Services showing nearly 32 percent (3,933) of all abortions performed in Minnesota in 2009 were paid for by taxpayers, at a cost of $1.58 million.
“There appears to be no limit to the abortion industry’s marketing of abortion to poor women,” said Scott Fischbach, the director of MCCL. “It is time to end abortionists’ money grab at the expense of vulnerable women and their unborn children.”
Nearly all of the numbers are up for taxpayer-funded abortions: Claims increased 4.8 percent over the previous year, total payments rose 5.4 percent, and the average cost per abortion rose to $403. In addition, Minnesota residents paid more than ever for the cost of “treatment of incomplete induced abortions” — a total of $13,791. This amount is expected to continue to increase, according to DHS.
Planned Parenthood posted big gains once again as its abortion center in the Highland neighborhood of St. Paul increased its taxpayer funded abortions by 7 percent in 2009. Planned Parenthood’s abortion marketing efforts to low-income and minority women have yielded a staggering 153 percent increase in its publicly-funded abortions since 2000.
Minnesota taxpayers have been required to fund elective abortions since the Minnesota Supreme Court’s 1995 Doe v. Gomez ruling. In that decision, the Court created a state “right” to abortion on demand and obligated all taxpayers to fund abortions.
“Polls continue to show that most Minnesotans and most Americans are opposed to taxpayer funded abortions, yet they continue to be forced to pay for them,” Fischbach said.
MCCL is working to pass a ban on taxpayer funded abortion. H.F. 201 / S.F. 103, authored by Rep. Peggy Scott, R-Andover, and Sen. Dave Thompson, R-Lakeville, would end this mistreatment of poor women, the killing of unborn children, and forcing taxpayers to fund it.
The increase in tax-funded abortions comes even as the number of abortions in the state drops. A July 2010 health department report showed abortion businesses in the state reported a total of 12,388 abortions in 2009 compared with 12,948 the previous year. The 2009 total is the lowest number on record since 1975, showing a historic drop.
The latest report on abortion issued today by the Minnesota Department of Health reveals the decrease is part of a three-year trend of fewer abortions statewide since the Positive Alternatives program has funded efforts to help pregnant women in need. Positive Alternatives is one of several pro-life legislative efforts by Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life to offer women life-affirming alternatives to abortion and to significantly reduce the number of unborn babies aborted each year.
MCCL indicates a MDH report showed that more than 12,000 women statewide were helped through the Positive Alternatives program in its first two years and another 6,000 women received help in the program’s third year.
“The fact that thousands of pregnant women last year still believed that abortion was their only option underscores the enormous need for women to find alternatives to abortion,” Fischbach said.
“It is crucial that every pregnant woman know that she does not need to have an abortion,” Fischbach said. “There are literally thousands of health care professionals and compassionate volunteers ready to help pregnant women all over Minnesota facing unintended pregnancies.”
