The Minnesota Abortion Situation
Laws Supporting Reproductive Rights in Minnesota
Contraceptive Equity
Congress is currently working on passing the Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act which would prohibit health insurance companies which cover prescriptions from excluding contraceptive coverage. A study on private insurance found that almost half of all large group health insurance plans do not routinely provide contracpetive coverage which means that women are forced to pay out of pocket for basic contraceptives which can cost as much as $300-$700 per year.
Emergency Contraception for Sexual Assault Survivors in the Emergency Room
Emergency contraception (EC), sometimes called the “morning-after pill,” is an effective method of preventing unwanted pregnancy. Despite mounting evidence that emergency contraception (EC) has been a major factor in the reduction of unwanted pregnancies and abortions in the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) denied American women access to over-the-counter emergency contraception. However, emergency contraception is still available in emergency rooms and hospitals in Minnesota.
Pharmacy Access to Emergency Contraception
In Minnesota a doctor’s prescription is required to obtain EC. This is problematic since EC must be taken within a short time period after intercourse (preferably 24 - 72 hours, but up to 120 hours) to be effective in preventing pregnancy. Many women have difficulty accessing their doctors within this short time frame – especially in rural areas or over weekends.
No Ban on so-called “Partial-Birth Abortion”
So-called "Partial-birth abortion" is an example of the extreme and deceptive tactics used by anti-abortion activists to abolish abortion altogether. Generally state bans do not use medical definitions or describe one specific procedure. These bans describe the term "partial-birth abortion" so broadly that it covers steps that doctors routinely take in performing abortions as early as 12-15 weeks. The Court's decision in Stenberg v. Carhart in Nebraska in 2000 exposed these bans for what they are: extreme and deceptive attempts to outlaw abortion -- even early in pregnancy -- that jeopardize women's health. The Court's decision has rendered similar bans in over 30 states and Congress unconstitutional or unenforceable. Minnesota is free from this ban.
On Tuesday, October 21st, 2003, the U.S. Senate voted to pass a bill that criminalizes certain types of abortion procedures. The bill has been referred to a ban on “partial-birth” abortion, a terminology not recognized by the medical community. It is not limited to third trimester abortions, as some of its proponents have suggested, but will criminalize certain abortion procedures throughout the pregnancy. The measure does not even have a health exception, one of the key reasons the Supreme Court found a similar Nebraska law unconstitutional in 2000. This 2003 measure jeopardizes Minnesota’s
Cited from www.crlp.org.
Laws Limiting Reproductive Rights in Minnesota
Clinic Violence and Harassment
Intentional harassment or physical obstruction of a woman’s access to an abortion-providing facility is a gross misdemeanor in Minnesota (violators may be sued for damages, attorneys’ fees, and an additional civil penalty of up to $1000
Public Funding of Abortion
The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that the state Constitution holds that the state must fund abortion costs if it already funds childbirth and related costs. This means that women in Minnesota may have their abortions covered by Medicaid, unlike women in other states who may only receive public funding in cases of rape, incest, or the endangerment of the woman’s life.
Parental Notification
Adolescents under the age of 18 may not obtain an abortion until at least 48 hours after written notification is delivered to both parents and signed. A young woman may bypass this requirement by appearing before a judge and explaining why she does not want her parents notified.
Mandatory Reporting
Abortion providers must fill out a report for every abortion they perform that includes information about the reason behind the abortion, the method of payment, the level of the patient’s education, the patient’s age and marital status, her race and Hispanic origin, her county/state of residence, and how many abortions (if any) she has had before.
24-Hour Waiting Period
Passed as the so-called “Woman’s Right to Know Act” in 2003, this law requires a woman seeking an abortion to listen to slanted, state-scripted information regarding the procedure, after which she must wait another 24 hours before having an abortion. Clinics are also required to submit additional onerous reports tracking the delivery of this information.
Recent Legislative Trends
• Gag Rules: Severely limits state funds from going to any organization that provides abortions or refers patients for abortions or considers abortion to be part of the reproductive health continuum.
• Constitutional Amendments: Focus on invalidating the 1995 Minnesota Supreme Court decision, Women of the State of Minnesota v. Gomez, which ruled that the state could not deny public funding for abortions while funding pregnancy-related costs (see above). One amendment would ban all public funding of abortion in Minnesota, even those caused by rape or incest, unless specifically authorized by the state legislature. Another amendment would require the Minnesota Constitution to be interpreted in the same way as the U.S. Constitution in matters relating to abortion, thereby reducing the greater protection of reproductive freedom granted by the state Constitution.
Cited from www.prochoiceminnesota.org.
