On July 11, a judge in Ramsey County District Court eliminated a number of longstanding, bipartisan, and commonsense abortion laws in Minnesota.
No longer does Minnesota require parental notification prior to abortions performed on minors. No longer does Minnesota ensure that women receive informed consent information before they undergo the procedure. No longer do those performing surgical abortions have to be physicians. These woman-empowering and abortion-reducing laws were struck down
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison—who is tasked with defending Minnesota’s laws—then decided not to appeal the judge’s extreme and constitutionally groundless decision.
That’s no surprise. Ellison had recently held a press conference with Planned Parenthood to tout the availability of abortion in our state. And he has a long history of supporting abortion-on-demand in public office. In fact, when he ran for attorney general in 2018, he “said … he won’t defend new abortion restrictions in court if state lawmakers approve them,” MPR News reported at the time.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz also indicated his opposition to appealing the radical district court ruling. That’s no surprise, either. Walz had earlier called on Congress to pass a sweeping bill, the so-called “Women’s Health Protection Act,” that would nullify almost all pro-life laws across the country, including parental notification and informed consent laws.
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We know where Walz stands. Leading up to and in the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson, he has gone out of his way to make clear that he opposes any protections for unborn children or any limits on abortion. “As long as I have the honor of holding this office, I will not sign laws that restrict access to abortions in our state,” he said. “I’ll fight tooth and nail to protect abortion rights and access.”
That no-limits approach has always been his position. When Walz served in Congress, he repeatedly voted in favor of taxpayer funding of abortion. And he repeatedly voted against protecting unborn children even later in pregnancy when they can feel excruciating pain.
Walz did vote pro-life one time—accidentally. He voted for the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. That bill would ensure that newborn babies who survive abortion be treated with the same degree of care as other babies born at the same age (so that they are not neglected, abandoned, or killed).
But Walz almost immediately apologized for his accidental vote (calling it “an honest mistake”) and reaffirmed his opposition to requiring ordinary care for abortion survivors (he had opposed the bill in the past as well).
LifeNews.com Note: Paul Stark is a member of the staff of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, a statewide pro-life group.
