Minnesota’s anti-abortion forces are hoping a slate of bills will restrict access to abortion. Four bills have been offered this session, from outright bans on the procedure to data-collection mandates, but none of them stand a chance of passing with a pro-choice DFL leadership.
A slew of Republicans are proposing a bill that would increase the mandates for reporting abortions. Under HF 290 [9], clinics and hospitals would be required to keep records on personal health information for 15 years. Information to be included: medical history, ultrasound copies, sex and age of the fetus and number of fetuses terminated, as well as each patient’s name, address and date of birth.
A patient must be notified prior to the procedure that her personal information will be retained for 15 years. In recent years, several high-profile cases have put patients’ privacy in jeopardy [10], including overzealous politicians using abortion records [11] for anti-abortion causes.
The bill is sponsored by Reps. Joyce Peppin, R-Rogers; Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake; Tom Hackbarth, R-Cedar; Bob Dettmer, R-Forest Lake; Dean Urdahl, R-Grove City; Steve Drazkowski, R-Wabasha; Torrey Westrom, R-Elbow Lake; Dan Severson, R-Sauk Rapids; and Ron Shimanski-R, Silver Lake.
Sen. Amy Koch, R-Buffalo, is the sole sponsor in the Senate (SF 216 [12]).
Another bill (HF 1057 [13], SF 904 [14]) would require all abortions in the state to be performed within 20 miles of a hospital. It would charge a physician who does perform an abortion outside the 20-mile radius with a misdemeanor.
Republican Rep. Laura Brod of New Prague is joined by Republican Sens. Pat Pariseau of Farmington, Michelle L. Fischbach of Paynesville, Joe Gimse of Willmar, Steve Dille of Dassel and David Hann of Eden Prairie in support of the 20-mile restriction bill.
Republicans, along with a lone DFLer, have offered a bill banning a rare abortion procedure called saline amniocentesis abortion. Sens. Amy Koch, R-Buffalo; Pat Pariseau, R-Farmington; Michelle L. Fischbach, R-Paynesville; Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove; and Claire A. Robling, R-Jordan; are joined by Rep. Patti Fritz, DFL-Faribault.
Saline amniocentesis abortion is a form of instillation abortion where abortion-inducing fluid is injected into the amniotic sac. Instillation accounts for 0.8 percent of abortions performed and saline accounts for only about 10 percent of those procedures, with urea and prostaglandin used in other cases.
To say that saline amniocentesis is a rare procedure is an understatement. So why are Republicans and their lone DFL colleague pushing the legislation? It would constitute a small victory for boosting anti-abortion activists morale.
Another bill would put abortion services out of the reach of low-income women. HF 1059 [15] and SF 906 [16] says, “Funding for state-sponsored health programs shall not be used for funding abortions, except to the extent necessary for continued participation in a federal program.”
The bill is being pushed by Sen. Claire Robling, R-Jordan, and Rep. Mary Ellen Otremba, DFL-Long Prairie.
The Minnesota Supreme Court has already declared it unconstitutional to restrict state funding for abortion services under the 1995 decision Doe v. Gomez, so even if the bill were passed into law, it is unclear whether it could survive a constitutional challenge.