NEWS RELEASE
Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn
Minnesota House of Representatives
District 49B – 651-296-7449– rep.carlie.kotyza-witthuhn@house.mn.gov
5th Floor, Centennial Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Marlee Schlegel
651-296-9873 or marlee.schlegel@house.mn.gov
March 13, 2025
Statement on Failed GOP “Born Alive” and Crisis Pregnancy Center Legislation
SAINT PAUL, Minn. - Today, House Democrats defeated HF24, a bill modifying current state law to require physicians to utilize life-saving measures on imminently terminal infants, and HF25, a bill that would re-route funding for organizations that provide reproductive healthcare to crisis pregnancy centers, many of which are religious organizations that often use pressure and scare tactics to persuade pregnant people into continuing their pregnancy rather than informing them on all their options.
Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn (DFL – Eden Prairie), author of the 2023 Protect Reproductive Options Act (PRO Act) that enshrined reproductive freedom into Minnesota state law, released the following statement in response.
“Both of these bills are appalling and dangerous perpetuations of misinformation to score political points. HF24, just like the GOP proposal from last term, is built on the false notion that people wait until later in pregnancy to terminate unwanted pregnancies. We know this is far from the truth, but Republicans refuse to cease this dangerous narrative and are now seeking to enshrine this virtue signaling into state law.
“Let’s be clear about what this bill would do in practice: for pregnant people who need an abortion later in pregnancy, it's because they received the worst news of their life – that their loved and wanted child is not compatible with life. This bill would prohibit parents from holding and comforting their terminal newborn in the few moments they have between inducing birth and the passing of their child. Instead, Republicans want to rob grieving parents of these brief moments by requiring physicians to exhaust all options to try to keep the child alive temporarily instead of providing comfort care like they do now, inflicting even more pain on both the infant and the family. This bill is nothing but cruel towards those parents, who are already suffering the greatest loss of their lives.
“It would also be a massive misstep for us to take funds from organizations that are actually providing healthcare and give it to unlicensed, unregulated groups that take advantage of pregnant people who find themselves in crisis. I’ve said it before, and I always will: keep the government out of reproductive healthcare decisions. Period.”
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