AG Keith Ellison Vows To Enforce Abortion Precedent From Doe. v. Gomez

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison Friday once again vowed to legally protect residents and women coming from other states who are seeking an abortion.

In a live stream, Ellison discussed the legal implications of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

"In Minnesota, your right to seek a safe, legal abortion is preserved. And that's not about to change," Ellison said, citing the 1995 state Supreme Court case, Doe. v. Gomez.

In Doe. v. Gomez, the Minnesota Supreme Court found that the state's constitution guarantees the right of every Minnesotan to an abortion up to 20 weeks. The justices found that the Minnesota Constitution offers even more protection than Roe v. Wade, which was decided in 1973 at the federal level.

Ellison issued the following legal guidance for abortion providers in Minnesota:

Minn. Stat. § 145.4242 requires physicians or referring physicians to provide patients with specific information 24 hours before performing an abortion. However, those disclosures are not required in medical emergencies or in care provided in the course of managing a miscarriage. In addition, the 24-hour delay does not ###em to medical emergencies or miscarriage management.

For all other abortion procedures, the physician or referring physician is only obligated to inform the patient about the “medically accurate” risks associated with the procedure. If, in the physician’s judgment, the procedure does not lead to risks of breast cancer, danger to subsequent pregnancies, or infertility, the physician or referring physician is not required to discuss those items..

Although Minn. Stat. § 145.412 imposes criminal penalties for performing an abortion in specific limited circumstances, no abortion provider in Minnesota has ever been convicted of a violation under this law based on conduct within the scope of their medical practice.

Ellison also made the following promises to Minnesotans and visitors of the state:

• "No one who travels from another state to seek an abortion that's legal in Minnesota will be prosecuted."
• "No one from another state who has a miscarriage while in Minnesota will be prosecuted."
• "No one helping someone else travel from another state to seek an abortion that's legal in Minnesota will be prosecuted."
• "No provider who travels from another state to provide an abortion that's legal in Minnesota will be prosecuted."
• "I will directly intervene to stop any such prosecution in Minnesota."
• "I will oppose extradition requests from other states for people who've engaged in legal conduct in Minnesota."

Of its immediate neighbors, the state of Minnesota has the most liberal abortion laws. Under Minnesota law, abortions are allowed up to 20 weeks during pregnancy.

As a result, Minneapolis is set to become an abortion destination following the Supreme Court's ruling. Minnesota has 11 abortion clinics, according to the pro-abortion rights Guttmacher Institute. Of those, the majority are in the Twin Cities metro area.

"This ruling changes nothing in Minnesota today, tomorrow, or as long as I am governor," vowed Gov. Tim Walz on Friday. "We will not turn back the clock on reproductive rights."

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