ST. PAUL, MN – On January 19, the Minnesota House of Representatives approved abortion language that would allow abortions until the child’s birth. State Representative Roger Skraba, R-Ely, voted no on the bill.
“Abortion is a subject that stirs deeply held convictions for many of us,” said Skraba. “No matter where you land on the issue, I found in my discussions with folks around the area that most of you support some commonsense safeguards that protect the health and wellbeing of the mother and the unborn. That’s why I am so disappointed that despite our best efforts, many of the widely supported safeguards that we tried to add to the bill were rejected. Because of this bill, Minnesota’s abortion policy will be more closely aligned with countries like North Korea and China than France, the United Kingdom, and the rest of the western world. This is extremely troubling and does not reflect our Minnesota values.”
Skraba noted that the bill does not require abortion facilities to be licensed by the State of Minnesota nor require second or third-term abortions to take place in a hospital, despite the obvious medical risks.
Numerous attempts were made to amend the legislation to show compassion to mothers and the unborn. The proposed changes included requiring 2nd and 3rd-trimester abortions to be performed in a hospital, banning partial-birth abortions, and banning abortions in the 3rd trimester, with the exceptions of rape, incest, and saving the life of the mother. The majority party in the Minnesota House voted all of them down.
The bill now heads to the Minnesota Senate.
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