Minnesota House Passes Super Gag Rule on Women’s Reproductive Health Care Services
Tim Stanley statement regarding passage Health & Human Services Omnibus Bill containing so-called “Taxpayer Protection Act” Saint Paul, Minn.— The Minnesota House of Representatives passed a bill on Friday that includes an onerous and heavy-handed restriction on family planning and “any other state grant program whose funds are or may be used to fund family planning services.” Tim Stanley, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota, gave the following statement in response to the House vote: “I continue to find it astonishing that legislators who oppose abortion, are pushing measures like the Super Gag Rule, which if they become law will only increase the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions in Minnesota.” “Instead of gagging the free speech of health care professionals, the Legislature should be focused on guaranteeing the tools to prevent unintended pregnancy in the first place.” The Super Gag Rule, attached to the Health and Human Services Omnibus Bill (HF 1681) prohibits a wide scope of state funds, including but not limited to all family planning funds, child and maternal health grants, and health disparity grants, from going to any organization that: provides abortion services, is an affiliate of an abortion service provider, publicly advocates for the legality or accessibility of abortion, endorses the election or defeat of a candidate for public office based on that candidate’s position on the legality of abortion, or challenges abortion-related laws by seeking equal protection in court. The House also defeated a measure to increase women’s access to accurate reproductive information. Rep. Slawik (Maplewood) offered an amendment, called the Women’s Right to Know Act of 2004, that would mandate that abortion information materials from the state Department of Health be medically and factually accurate, including removing a reference to the false link between abortion and breast cancer. The amendment was defeated 39 to 90. NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota is an affiliate of NARAL Pro-Choice America and is the largest grassroots pro-choice group in Minnesota. Contact: Tim Stanley - 651-602-7655 ###
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