Today, after over 12 hours of debate on the topic, Senate Democrats passed extreme abortion legislation that has no safeguards. The bill is just over one page long and goes far beyond the scope of both Doe v. Gomez and Roe v. Wade.

Senator Eric Pratt (R-Prior Lake) released the following statement in response:

“The passage of today’s bill means that Minnesota will now have the most extreme abortion laws in the country. Despite over 12 hours of debate, the concerns of millions of Minnesotans were ignored by Senate Democrats, by their unwillingness to find common ground on an issue that is so divisive. Senate Republicans spent hours trying to offer commonsense amendments that balanced individual rights, protected parental rights, and would have recognized the rights of unborn babies. Minnesotans expect legislators to come together to address difficult and important topics in a meaningful way, and despite our best efforts, we were stopped from doing so.”    

Senate Republicans offered a number of 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:

• Ensuring decisions are fully informed
• To insure qualified medical care is required when performing late-term abortions
• Prohibition of the violent Dilation and Evacuation (D&E) partial-birth abortions
• Requirement for parental notification
• Prohibition of abortions due to down syndrome