Attorney General Keith Ellison Won't Appeal Minnesota Abortion Ruling

ST. PAUL, MN — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison Thursday announced that his office will not appeal the recent district court ruling that struck down most of Minnesota's abortion restrictions.

On July 11, a Ramsey County judge ruled that Minnesota's mandatory 24-hour waiting period before an abortion, and the two-parent notification requirement for girls under the age of 18 before an abortion, violated the state constitution.

Judge Thomas Gilligan — a Mark Dayton appointee — also lifted a state law that said only physicians can perform abortions.

On Thursday, Ellison said he made the decision to not appeal with Gov. Tim Walz, the Department of Health, the Board of Medical Practice, and the Board of Nursing.

"After three years of litigation in which my office and I thoroughly, vigorously, and faithfully defended the constitutionality of several state laws that regulate abortion, and after long and careful consideration of the district court’s ruling and consultation with each of my co-defendants, I have decided not to appeal in the case of Doe vs. Minnesota," Ellison said.

"In my estimation, we are unlikely to obtain a different result through an appeal."

Ellison said that his office has already spent three years in litigation, 4,000 hours, and $600,000 in defending the abortion restrictions. "Appealing the case is not a proper or prudent use of limited state resources," he said.

Additionally, Ellison said that the challenged laws "did not materially impact abortion rates in Minnesota, suggesting they were not achieving the policy goals set by the Legislature."

Abortion restrictions struck down by district court

In his July 11 decision, Gilligan cited Doe. v. Gomez, a 1995 Minnesota Supreme Court ruling that found that the state's constitution guarantees the right of every resident to an abortion up to 20 weeks.

"These abortion laws violate the right to privacy because they infringe upon the fundamental right under the Minnesota Constitution to access abortion care and do not withstand strict scrutiny," Gilligan wrote.

"The parental notification law violates the guarantee of equal protection for the same reasons. The informed consent law also violates the right to free speech under the Minnesota Constitution, because it is misleading and confusing, and does not withstand intermediate scrutiny."

Monday's ruling comes just weeks after the United States Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, thus allowing each state the power to regulate abortion on its own.

Of its immediate neighbors, the state of Minnesota has by far the most liberal abortion laws. As a result, the state is set to become an abortion destination following the Supreme Court's ruling.

Meanwhile, North and South Dakota have near-complete abortion bans that are set to take effect following the decision. Iowa and Wisconsin already have laws on the books that ban abortion.