The mission of NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota is to develop and sustain a constituency that uses the political process to guarantee every woman the right to make personal decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices, including preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing healthy children, and choosing legal abortion.

 

The NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota Foundation is a 501 C(3) tax-deductible non-profit organization. The Foundation's mission is to support and protect, as a fundamental right and value, a woman's freedom to make personal decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices through education, training, organizing, legal action and public policy.

 

 

For over 30 years, NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota has been fighting for women's reproductive rights. Although its specific goals and tactics have changed with the continually evolving political climate, throughout its history NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota has remained dedicated to its fundamental ideals of reproductive freedom and choice.

 

NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota was founded in 1966 when Carolyn Qualle, a student, gathered a group of activists and neighbors to discuss ideas for legalizing abortion. In the early 1960s Minnesota law banned all abortions, even to save a woman's life. Their own personal experiences with the tragic effects of illegal abortion led this group of concerned Minnesotans to the conviction that all women should have access to safe abortions. The initial meeting resulted in a resolution to educate the public on abortion, reform legislation, and the first of many names for this organization, the Minnesota Council for the Legal Termination of Pregnancy (MCLTP). MCLTP initially backed a bill which would allow abortions if approved by a committee of doctors, but soon adopted the view that abortion was a personal decision and worked to completely overturn the abortion ban. During its these early years, MCLTP was based in a member's house and entirely run by volunteers who developed the board of advisors, organized volunteer activities, and worked on political activism.

 

A founding board member and long time pro-choice activist, Betty Benjamin was elected president of MCLTP in 1971. Under her leadership, MCLTP campaigned for legal abortion by establishing relationships with state legislators, hiring a lobbyist, and building a solid grassroots organization. In 1972, MCLTP changed its name to the Minnesota Organization for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (MORAL), reflecting its stance on repealing legislation that limited reproductive choice.

 

After the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in 1973, MORAL activists thought their organization would be unnecessary. Unfortunately, they soon saw that they were still needed to combat anti-choice activists and politicians who were actively fighting to restrict women's newly won access to reproductive choice. MORAL launched an aggressive campaign to educate the public about the personal nature of abortion, shifting its goals shifted from lobbying to legalize abortion to guaranteeing abortion accessibility.

 

In 1974, MORAL changed its name to the Abortion Rights Council of Minnesota (ARC) to reflect the change in abortion laws. In the next five years, ARC greatly expanded. The organization moved into a commercial office space and hired a professional staff. By 1982, ARC had sufficient resources and support to start a Political Action Committee, allowing them to make direct financial contributions and public endorsements for pro-choice candidates.

 

In 1987, ARC mobilized to fight the anti-choice group Operation Rescue. ARC trained nearly 100 volunteers to escort women safely into clinics, thwarting Operation Rescue’s blockades intended to scare women out of having abortions.

 

Soon after, ARC launched an ambitious campaign to identify pro-choice Minnesotans and collected 20,000 signatures as part of their Silent No More Campaign of 1988. In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court's 1989 Webster v. Reproductive Health Services decision that allowed states to impose further restrictions on abortions generated a surge of activism for pro-choice groups, doubling ARC's membership.

 

The last decade of the millenium presented new challenges for ARC. In 1991, the organization changed its name again to Minnesota NARAL to reflect the longstanding affiliation with NARAL, then known as the National Abortion Rights Action League. Many pro-choice supporters were complacent in the 1990s due to the election of pro-choice President Clinton and confidence that he would ensure choice for women. Responding to this challenge, Minnesota NARAL worked tenaciously to gather support and succeeded in progressively expanding its membership base. Moreover, it launched a Campus Organizing Project to educate young activists and build the next generation of pro-choice leaders.

 

In both Minnesota and the U.S. Congress, the late 1990s were filled with attacks on women's reproductive choice. The rise of the Republican right nationwide led to bans on so-called "partial birth" abortions, decreased funding for Title X family planning funds, 24-hour waiting periods, and informed consent requirements for abortions. In 1996, this conservative backlash focused Minnesota NARAL’s efforts on state Senate elections. This hard work was rewarded when the Minnesota Senate acquired its first pro-choice majority.

 

In 1999, Minnesota NARAL honored its former president, Betty Benjamin, by establishing a permanent endowment in her name to guarantee the organization’s viability for generations to come. Minnesota NARAL also embarked on an ambitious project to evaluate the accessibility of hospital-based reproductive services in Minnesota with the Minnesota Hospital Provider Project.

 

In 2003, the organization changed its name to NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota as the national partner changed to NARAL Pro-Choice America. In these years, renewed attacks on the right to choose came from the Bush White House, a re-shaped Supreme Court, and an anti-choice administration in Minnesota. Minnesota passed a 24-hour waiting period bill and began funding anti-choice pregnancy centers.

 

In 2004, NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota joined pro-choice partners in sending over 4500 pro-choice Minnesotans for the April 25 March for Women's Lives on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The historic march was the largest demonstration on the Mall to date.

 

NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota began several new programs in the 2000s, including the Abortion Provider Expansion Project (APEP), ran in conjunction with Pro-Choice Resources. APEP's goal was to address the pressing problem of the dwindling pool of physicians trained to provide comprehensive reproductive health care services, particularly abortion services.

 

In 2004, a professional Field Canvass Program was created to identify and mobilize pro-choice voters in Minnesota communities. It is the only pro-choice organizing program of its kind in the country. On average, a dozen field canvass staff knock on doors every weeknight, 12 months a year.

 

The Pharmacy Access Project was created in response to the growing need to ensure women in every community has unfettered access to emergency contraception and regular birth control.  The project lead to the creation of the ECminnesota website which allows visitors to find a pharmacy close to them that carries emergncy contraception.  www.ecminnesota.org

Winning a pro-choice majority for the first time in the state senate and achieving pro-choice/anti-choice parity in the state house after the 2006 elections, the 2007 legislative session was the first successful one in years. NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota led in the passage of the "EC in the ER" bill, and partnered on other vital proactive, pregnancy prevention initiatives.

 

2008 brought the election of a pro-choice President, Barack Obama, and the hope of pro-choice policies and appointments to the US Supreme Court.  President Obama's first major action in defense of reproductive rights was the repeal of the "Global Gag Rule".

 

NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota also created its Phone Canvass to  supplement our Field Canvass in the mobilization of our members.  The phone canvass was a key player in our electoral actions in 2008.

 

The struggle to secure equal access to reproductive choice for women is far from over. NARAL continues to dedicate itself to protecting reproductive rights as it has from its beginning in 1966. Through public education, lobbying, and electoral work, NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota has remained committed to protecting the fundamental right of women's choice.