MN Bill Removes Protections For Babies Born After Abortion

ST. PAUL, MN — A second major abortion bill making its way through the Minnesota Legislature would repeal state laws that protect babies who are born alive after a failed abortion.

The Democratic-backed House File 91 repeals a number of state statutes, ranging from current abortion regulations to defunct state laws that criminalized adultery, fornication, and sodomy.

The "Born Alive Infants Protection Act" is among the regulations Democrats are hoping to repeal with the bill.

The Born Alive Infants Protection Act states that "a born alive infant as a result of an abortion shall be fully recognized as a human person, and accorded immediate protection under the law."

Additionally, the act requires that "all reasonable measures consistent with good medical practice, including the compilation of appropriate medical records, shall be taken by the responsible medical personnel to preserve the life and health of the born alive infant."

Five babies died after they were born alive due to a failed induced abortion in 2021, according to an annual report from the Minnesota Department of Health. That annual report would no longer be released if H.F. 91 is passed into state law.

Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act

Another Democratic-backed abortion bill — known titled the Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act — passed the Minnesota House last week and faces good odds in the Democratically-controlled state Senate.

The PRO Act explicitly enshrines abortion rights into state law, stating that "Every individual who becomes pregnant has a fundamental right to continue the pregnancy and give birth, or obtain an abortion, and to make autonomous decisions about how to exercise this fundamental right."

The bill also states that cities and other local government entities in the state "may not regulate an individual's ability to freely exercise the fundamental rights set forth in this section in a manner that is more restrictive than that set forth in this section."

Democrats voted down an amendment that would have banned third-trimester abortions. Another proposed amendment, which would require abortion facilities to be licensed, also failed.

Abortion is already legal in the state due to a 1995 Minnesota Supreme Court ruling titled Doe v. Gomez. But following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June, Minnesota Democrats want abortion access to be enshrined in state law.

"Not every positive pregnancy test is a celebration. And not every ultrasound appointment ends with good news," said Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn, the bill's co-author, on the House floor.

"And I, as a politician, have no business making that decision for someone else."

Republicans and anti-abortion activists opposed the bill, calling it extreme.

"The Democrats' taxpayer-funded, abortion-on-demand agenda is extreme and out of step with the people of Minnesota," said Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman David Hann in a statement.

"Let’s be clear: The PRO Act would mean it’s legal for any baby to be aborted, for any reason and at any time up to birth," said Minnesota Citizens Concerned For Life's Cathy Blaeser.

"The absolutist extremism of this bill would put Minnesota in the company of just a handful of countries worldwide, among them China and North Korea. Mothers and babies deserve a far more humane and compassionate approach."