Minnesota Pro-Life Group Backs Slate of Three Bills to Ban, Limit Abortions

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Feb 23, 2009   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Minnesota Pro-Life Group Backs Slate of Three Bills to Ban, Limit Abortions

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 23
, 2009

St. Paul, MN (LifeNews.com) — A Minnesota pro-life group is backing a package of three pro-life bills that would either ban or limit abortions. One would prohibit the use of saline abortions in the state, a second requires abortion practitioners to have hospital admitting privileges and a third stops taxpayer-funding of abortions.

The three measures have the strong backing of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL), a statewide pro-life organization.

“It is time for state lawmakers to get serious about defending the rights of our most vulnerable citizens,” Andrea Rau, an MCCL legislative analyst, told LifeNews.com. “Pregnant women and their unborn babies are still not safe from an abortion industry that preys upon them.”

Rep. Mary Ellen Otremba, a Democrat, and Sen. Claire Robling, a Republican, are behind H.F. 1059 and S.F. 906, bills that would ban taxpayer funding of most all abortions.

Since the Minnesota Supreme Court’s 1995 Doe v. Gomez decision requiring taxpayers to pay for elective abortions, taxpayers have been forced to spend more than $12.5 million for an overwhelming 43,000 abortions according to the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

“The abortion industry is using low-income women to enrich itself with taxpayer dollars,” Rau said. “A large majority of Minnesotans don’t want their tax dollars funding abortions, and this mainstream legislation is a big step in getting state government out of the abortion business.”

Meanwhile, a second bill, H.F. 1057 and S.F. 904, authored by Republican Sen. Pat Pariseau and Republican Rep. Laura Brod, would require abortion practitioners to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital to ensure that women receive proper care when harmed by an abortion.

The number of reported complications resulting from abortion has increased in recent years, according to the Minnesota Department of Health’s annual abortion report. These complications vary in severity, but can be serious enough to warrant hospitalization.

“Where abortionists do not have admitting privileges, women may be denied the immediate, crucial medical care they deserve,” Rau explained.

If the abortion practitioner can’t find a hospital willing to allow them to admit patients in emergency situations related to a botched abortion, they may be prohibited from doing abortions in the state.

Finally, saline abortions would be banned under H.F. 1058 and S.F. 905, sponsored by Rep. Patti Fritz, and Sen. Amy Koch, a Republican.

In a saline abortion procedure, the abortion practitioner replaces the life-giving amniotic fluid in the womb with a hypertonic saline (salt) solution that is toxic for the unborn child.

The baby swallows the salt and is poisoned. The corrosive effect of the salt solution often burns the outer layer of the baby’s skin and the mother delivers a burned, shriveled and dead baby.

“Saline abortions are one of the most brutal and inhumane medical procedures performed today,” Rau told LifeNews.com. “Even though saline abortion causes horrific suffering for unborn babies and poses great dangers to women’s health, it is still legal in Minnesota. Outlawing this grotesque abortion procedure is long overdue.”

ACTION: Contact members of the Minnesota legislature to urge support for these pro-life bills by going to https://www.leg.state.mn.us

Related web sites:
Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life – https://www.mccl.org
Minnesota Legislature – https://www.leg.state.mn.us

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