Republicans introduce two more partial-abortion ban bills

Minnesota Republicans introduced two more bills on Thursday to ban abortions “at or after 20 weeks gestational age,” bringing the total number of bills banning various aspects of abortion to eight. Four would eliminate state funding for abortion services, and four more would prevent women from having abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Introducing the Senate bill, SF711, were Senate Finance Chair Claire Robling of Jordan, Senate Local Government Chair Ray Vandeveer of Forest Lake, Sen. Sean Nienow of Cambridge, Sen. Ben Kruse of Brooklyn Park, and Sen. David Brown of Becker.

The House bill, HF1042, was introduced by House Agriculture and Rural Development Policy and Finance Chair Rod Hamilton, Rep. Mary Liz Holberg of Lakeville, Rep. Dan Fabian of Roseau, Rep. Chris Swedzinski of Ghent, and Rep. Debra Kiel of Crookston.

The previous bills have the support of Republican leadership in the House and Senate; House Majority Leader Matt Dean of Dellwood and House Speaker Kurt Zellers of Maple Grove sponsored the 20-week ban, and Sen. David Hann of Eden Prairie, who serves as Assistant Majority Leader and chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, Sen. Michele Fischbach of Paynesville who is President of the Senate, and Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch have all introduced a ban on taxpayer funding for abortion.

On the ban on abortions after 20 weeks, Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota said in a statement:

Not every pregnancy ends the way a family hopes it will. Some end in miscarriage, sometimes the mother develops serious complications. And sometimes she finds out there’s something seriously wrong with the pregnancy

This legislation bans safe medical options for a woman in this difficult situation and would have a devastating impact on a woman facing serious complications after her first trimester of pregnancy.

Abortion is a complex, deeply personal decision that a woman makes in consultation with her doctor, her family and trusted loved ones and advisers based on her unique medical situation. Women and families know their unique circumstances best and need to be able to make personal medical decisions, often very difficult ones, without government interference.

Though the legislation would ban abortions after 20 weeks, Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life said the bill is about reducing pain associated with abortions.

“For far too long, Minnesota’s abortionists have been inflicting unconscionable suffering on unborn babies by killing them when they are already extraordinarily developed and pain-sensitive,” Scott Fischbach, Executive Director of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life said in a statement. The group is pushing for all eight bills.

He added, “It is illegal to treat animals in such a brutal way; this bill will finally protect unborn children at 20 weeks and older from the torturous pain of abortion.”