From NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota
St. Paul, Minn. (April 24, 2017) — Minnesota House Republicans on April 24 voted to send unconstitutional and discriminatory women’s health bills to Governor Dayton, who has signaled his intention to veto them.
HF809 discriminates against women based on the type of insurance they have, by eliminating Medicaid coverage for abortion. Additionally, this bill is unconstitutional because the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that “the difficult decision to whether to obtain a therapeutic abortion will not be made by the government, but will be left to the woman and her doctor” in Doe v. Gomez.
HF812 discriminates against abortion clinics by singling them out and holding them to completely different standards than other health clinics. Additionally, this bill is in direct contradiction to the ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States last summer that said doing this is unconstitutional.
“There is a clear pattern by Minnesota House Republicans of unconstitutionally discriminating against a woman’s right to access health care. It’s just that simple,” said Andrea Ledger, Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota. “Legislators heard amendments that would have helped to reduce unintended pregnancy and empower doctors to give their patients the best medical information.”
Ledger added, “HF 809 will deny a woman her constitutional right to an abortion simply because she is poor. This is textbook discrimination. And, in spite of the fact that the Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that abortion is a decision can only be made between a woman and her doctor, Minnesota Republicans continue to challenge established law that ensures women will have access to reproductive health care, regardless of their financial situation.”
Speaking on HF812, Amy Hagstrom Miller of Whole Woman’s Health Twin Cities issued a statement. “For Minnesota’s anti-choice politicians to say that this legislation makes women safer is nonsense. Whole Woman’s Health started this fight in Texas and we ended with a major victory at the U.S. Supreme Court last summer. The Court ruled that states cannot put undue burden on women seeking abortion care. The Whole Woman’s Health decision has been used in at least 10 states already, in addition to Texas, to fight back against laws just like this one and to bring needed relief to women. We will fight this in Minnesota and win, just like we did in Texas.”
Hagstrom Miller continued, “I am proud to be part of the Whole Woman’s Health team that secured the victory in the Supreme Court last summer for women across this country. As the Clinic Manager for Whole Woman’s Health of the Twin Cities I can tell you that we will fight back here just like we did in Texas and we will always stand up to injustice.
