Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn
Minnesota House of Representatives
District 49B – 651-296-7449– rep.carlie.kotyza-witthuhn@house.mn.gov
567 State Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Marlee Schlegel
651-296-9873 or marlee.schlegel@house.mn.gov
June 14, 2023
Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn to participate in White House Reproductive Rights Panel
SAINT PAUL, Minn. - Thursday, State Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn (DFL – Eden Prairie) will participate in the White House State Legislative Convening on Reproductive Rights. The White House will host a total of 83 state legislators hailing from 41 states to discuss work done and work needed to protect reproductive healthcare across the country. Minnesota’s delegation also includes Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman (DFL – Brooklyn Park) and Rep. Kaohly Her (DFL – Saint Paul). This event comes ahead of the upcoming one-year anniversary of Dobbs v. Jackson, a decision that overturned the precedent and protections for the right to abortion set by Roe v. Wade in 1973.
“I am incredibly honored to be selected to participate in this panel alongside some of the strongest state leaders in our nation,” said Rep. Kotyza-Witthuhn. “The work we did this session for reproductive rights here in Minnesota was monumental, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to share our work on a national stage and help other states follow with their own legislation.”
On Wednesday, the White House will host legislators from abortion-hostile states before hosting legislators from abortion-access states on Thursday. Rep. Kotyza-Witthuhn was selected to participate in a panel discussion titled “Building a Powerful Policy Agenda,” in which she and two other legislators from Washington and Maryland will discuss reproductive rights bills they’ve advanced, including legislation to repeal restrictions, protect patient privacy, and increase funding for reproductive healthcare.
During the 2023 legislative session, Rep. Kotyza-Witthuhn carried the PRO Act (HF1), which protects Minnesotans’ right to contraception, the right to carry a pregnancy to term, and the right to abortion, and ensures the right to privacy for personal reproductive health decisions. It also prevents interference by anti-choice politicians who seek to enact or defend medically unnecessary barriers to comprehensive reproductive health care.
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