A lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Ramsey County District Court challenging numerous abortion-related laws in Minnesota. The suit aims to overturn Minnesota’s Woman’s Right to Know law, parental notification law, and abortion reporting law, among others.

Following the lawsuit, Senator Mark Johnson (R-East Grand Forks) released the following statement:

“In a Nation and State that value due process so much it is written into the constitution, it saddens me to see groups committed to denying these basic rights to our most vulnerable. It’s a shame to see this lawsuit emerge, targeting the few laws Minnesota has protecting unborn children. Places like Virginia and New York are offering extreme abortion laws and now we are facing serious attacks on the value and respect for life. To me, life is sacred, and I hope that our Attorney General and state will work to protect our laws and the rights of mothers and children.”

The lawsuit was brought by two abortion practitioners and the First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis, who are represented by Gender Justice and The Lawyering Project. Among the Minnesota statutes, it seeks to strike down are the following:

• Woman’s Right to Know, which ensures informed consent prior to an abortion;
• Parental notification, which ensures that parents are notified before a minor undergoes abortion;
• Abortion data reporting, which ensures that basic data about abortion in Minnesota is collected;
• The physician-only requirement, which requires that people who perform abortions be doctors;
• Fetal disposal law, which requires that the remains of aborted children be treated in a dignified manner