January 22, 2023 | Press Release
ST. PAUL — Today, on the 50th anniversary of the legalization of abortion, thousands of Minnesotans came to the state Capitol to commemorate the enormous harm of abortion and to call on elected officials to reject current bills that would enshrine abortion-until-birth in Minnesota law. The annual MCCL March for Life took place just days after the House narrowly approved the extreme Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act; the Senate could vote as soon as this week.
“Babies in Minnesota receive no protection in their mother’s wombs,” MCCL Co-Executive Director Cathy Blaeser told the large crowd gathered from across the state. “But that’s not enough for Gov. Walz and pro-abortion legislators. Now they want to enshrine into our Minnesota laws a complete and unfettered right to abort any baby at any time, right up to the moment of birth.”
Elective abortion has been legal in Minnesota since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Jan. 22, 1973, Roe v. Wade decision struck down laws protecting unborn children nationwide. Although the Court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson ruling now allows states to decide their own abortion laws, the Minnesota Supreme Court’s Doe v. Gomez decision continues to require a policy of abortion-on-demand in Minnesota.
Abortion supporters at the Capitol are currently advancing multiple bills to entrench and expand abortion in state law. One bill, the PRO Act (H.F. 1/S.F. 1), would create a “fundamental right” to abortion, even late in pregnancy, when unborn children are developed enough to feel excruciating pain and when the risks of abortion to women increase. A separate bill, H.F. 91/S.F. 70, would repeal numerous longstanding abortion-related laws in Minnesota, including a law protecting newborns who survive abortion from being left to die. In 2021, according to the Minnesota Department of Health, five abortions resulted in a born-alive infant.
The MCCL March for Life has been held each year since 1974, the first anniversary of Roe. This year’s speakers included Alyssa Bormes—who shared her story of rape, abortion, and regret—as well as Congressman Brad Finstad. Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach also attended, and Congressmen Tom Emmer and Pete Stauber sent greetings. Many state lawmakers were in attendance and were introduced to the crowd.
“Fifty years ago today, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down the infamous Roe v. Wade decision, resulting in over 63 million unborn children brutally killed in what should be their safest haven, their mother’s womb,” said Blaeser during today’s program. “We are here today to remember those babies and their wounded mothers and fathers.”
In 2021, 10,136 abortions took place in Minnesota, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Almost 700,000 have taken place since Roe.