WCCO's Pat Kessler reports on Planned Parenthood's recent response to a slate of antiabortion-rights legislation in Minnesota, which Planned Parenthood is calling "the most aggressive attack against [the] organization in years."
According to Kessler, one bill (HF 3374) would cut family planning funding for abortion care providers, a move Planned Parenthood officials said would restrict access to reproductive health services for 45,000 state residents. Sarah Stoesz, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, notes, "In their zeal to end women's access to abortion, these politicians would deny access to birth control, family planning and other preventive health care to ... tens of thousands of women in Minnesota."
Conservative lawmakers also have proposed a clinic licensure bill (HF 606) and a bill (HF 2865) that targets funding for fetal tissue research at the University of Minnesota, Kessler reports.
Kessler says that the bills' chances of passage "are almost zero," noting they would face difficulty in the state Senate and a veto threat from Gov. Mark Dayton (D). Given the unlikelihood of passage, Kessler says the bills could be considered "statement bills" from conservative lawmakers. He notes, "They're not going anywhere, but [conservative lawmakers] want to get them out there anyway" (Kessler, WCCO, 4/12).
