On Thursday, Senator Mary Kiffmeyer (R-Big Lake) joined her fellow Senate and House Republicans at a joint press conference to express opposition to a law in New York and a bill in Virginia that will allow for abortion up to the moment of birth with virtually no restrictions.

“It is unfortunate that we must be here today to defend against these new attacks on life that might someday threaten Minnesota’s most vulnerable population,” said Senator Mary Kiffmeyer. “The bizarre perspectives being taken in New York and Virginia undermine the value of life and the biological realities of our world. How can some be so comfortable allowing children to be totally vulnerable to the will of others when in the womb, yet once they are fully born, deem them to have rights that are protected in law?  That change doesn’t just happen in an instant, that life begins at conception whether some would like to admit it or not.”

Earlier this month, Senator Kiffmeyer joined thousands of Minnesotans at the state Capitol in St. Paul for the annual March for Life to give voice to the idea that human rights belong to all human beings – including unborn children and their mothers. The annual March marked the 46th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions. These decisions made abortion legal for any reason and stripped unborn children the protection of the law.

Following the March, legislators and Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL) introduced their 2019 legislative agenda during a brief program on the Capitol steps. The organization will work with lawmakers to enact legislation ensuring women have the option to view their ultrasound before undergoing an abortion. Ultrasound is usually performed before an abortion, but women generally aren’t offered the chance to see. Similar legislation passed through both the Minnesota House and Senate last year, but it was vetoed by Gov. Mark Dayton.

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