ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota House fast-tracked a bill to codify abortion rights with a 69-65 vote. The bill now goes to the state Senate, where Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic said he has the votes to pass the bill. Abortion rights hves been a priority of majority Democrats in both houses of the Legislature. The bill has support from Democratic Governor Tim Walz.
Earlier: Bishops call abortion bill’s pace destructive
Earlier: Pelowski sits out abortion bill; foresees passage
Earlier: Minnesota DFL looks to enact reproductive reforms
Earlier: Prinsburg mystery: Outgoing anti-abortion solon did it
Abortion as state issue
Abortion rights in Minnesota have been broadly protected since 1995 when the state Supreme Court ruled that the right to an abortion is protected by the state constitution. The new state law would make the protection a matter of statutory law, not just constitutional law. This would be a buffer against the anti-abortion inclinations of the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 2022 overturned its own 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had established national protection for abortion rights. With a void on abortion rights at the national level, states can each can go their own way in the issue.