On Saturday, Jan. 28, after over 12 hours of debate on the topic, Senate Democrats passed extreme abortion legislation that protects “abortion” and “reproductive rights” with no safeguards or limitations. The seemingly short, less-than-a-page bill goes far beyond the scope of both Doe v. Gomez and Roe v. Wade.

Senator Jordan Rasmusson (R-Fergus Falls) released the following statement:

“The Democrats’ extreme abortion law goes far beyond Roe, allowing for abortions at any point during a pregnancy. And alarming, there are zero protections in place for women or babies. Our aim as legislators should be to find commonsense, consensus agreement. The PRO Act, however, fails to achieve this goal, and is the wrong step for Minnesota.”

The bill passed on party lines, 34-33. 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:

• Ban on third-trimester abortions 
• Prohibition of violent Dilation and Evacuation (D&E) abortions 
• Language that would have excluded sterilization from the umbrella of “reproductive rights” 
• Requirement of parental notification 
• Language that would have prevented the sterilization of minors  
• Prohibition of abortions due to down syndrome