ST. PAUL, Minn. – Attorney General Keith Ellison said he won’t defend old Minnesota state laws that restrict abortion rights. Ellison, a Democrat, had been under pressure from abortion opponents, mostly Republicans, to file a suit against a judge’s decision July 11 that ruled the restrictions unconstitutional. At issue:
> A mandatory 24-hour waiting period.
> A requirement that minor can have an abortion only if parents approve.
> A rule that only physicians may perform abortions..
Ramsey County Judge Thomas Gilligan overturned the restrictions, which had originated over the years with the Legislature. Attorneys general normally are obligated to appeal a judge’s ruling that goes against state law. However, Ellison, who personally supports abortion rights, said that Judge Gilligan’s decision was “in the public interest and the right legal decision.” Ellison noted that his office has spent $600,000 defending the abortion laws over the past three years. Spending more would be pointless, he said, because a successful appeal would put the case back before Gilligan.
Ellison. Minnesota attorney general. His decision keeps Minnesota an island for abortion rights in the Upper Midwest. These states have extreme restrictions: Wisconsin, Iowa and the Dakotas.