On Saturday, Jan. 28, after over 12 hours of debate on the topic, Senate Democrats passed extreme abortion legislation that permits abortion through all nine months of pregnancy.
During the debate, Senator Julia Coleman (R-Waconia) fought to protect women, unborn children, and parental rights, and her personal story drew national attention when she recently appeared on Fox & Friends.
“I came to St. Paul to reach out across the aisle and do right by my fellow Minnesotans,” Senator Coleman said. “Senate Democrats, however, refuse to bring moderation and reasonableness to their legislation. And like we saw with the passage of the extreme abortion bill, this has led to hasty, radical legislation.”
During the debate, Senator Coleman shared the story of her premature twins and attempted to introduce amendments to protect late-term unborn babies from dismemberment abortions.
“After seeing how my little 33 weekers responded to a needle poke, the idea of inflicting the pain I just described on a child at that stage of development is nothing short of barbaric. And the worst part is, the Democrats in charge refused measures to ease their pain. They refused to end practices that future generations will look back upon with horror.” Senator Coleman said.
The bill passed on party lines, 34-33. Senate Republicans offered more than 60 critical amendments—all of which were struck down on party-line votes, and many of which were not deemed worthy of discussion by the majority party. Key amendments that were offered include:
- Ban on third-trimester abortions
- Prohibition of violent dismemberment abortions
- Requirement of parental notification
- Language that would have prevented the sterilization of minors
- Prohibition of abortions due to Down’s Syndrome, a baby’s race, or their sex