ST. PAUL, Minn. – After a night of heated debate with the galleries packed and hundreds of partisans milling and chanting outside, the Minnesota Senate voted 34-33 to end the last of the state’s abortion limitations. The party-line vote came – finally— at 3 a.m. The debate had gone on 15 hours. Republicans tried repeatedly to weaken the bill with amendments, each of which failed. The bill, called the PRO Act, short for “Protect Reproductive Actions,” earlier passed the House. The bill now goes to pro-choice Governor Tim Walz to sign into law. The state already has abortion-friendly policies, but the PRO Act would make it difficult for courts to nullify them. This has become a critical cause for reproductive right advocates after the U.S. Supreme Court reversed federal protection for abortions in June.
Verbatim
Senator Jennifer McEwen, a sponsor of the PRO Act: “We have a duty to answer the call of Minnesotans to truly protect those reproductive freedoms, to enshrine them not simply in case law but in our statutory law. These are our values. This is the practice in Minnesota. This is what we believe.”
McEwan. Duluth Democrat
Verbatim
Senator Mark Johnson, PRO Act opponent: “Today we are not just codifying Roe v. Wade or Doe v. Gomez, as the author has indicated, we are enacting the most extreme bill in the country.”
Johnson. East Grand Forks Republican.
Passions outside the chamber
Passions ran strong outside the Senate chambers during the marathon debate. Abortion rights supporters chanted, “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Abortion bans have got to go.” Opponents sang the hymn “Amazing Grace.” Demonstrators, packed shoulder to shoulder, were filmic, waving placards and posters, mostly red, white and blue with some yellow:
> “Believe the Science: Abortion Kills”
> “Abortion Is Health Care”
> “Abortion Rights Are Citizen Rights”
Partisans gladly spouted sound bites to news reporters. “Mothers and babies deserve a far more humane and compassionate approach,” said Cathy Blaeser, of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, said. Sarah Traxler, chief regional medical officer at Planned Parenthood, said decisions on terminating a pregnancy decision should not be made kn floor of the Senate but between a patient and her medical provider. “Minnesotans and all people who travel here for care need to know abortion access isn’t going away just because political winds change or an ideological judge overturns precedent,” Traxler said.
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