Invest In Choice

What is a CPC?

Welcome to NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota’s 2009 Legislative Scorecard. On the next few pages we highlight the choice votes that occurred during the 2009 legislative session.

During the 2009 Legislative Session, we beat back every piece of anti-choice legislation that directly affected a woman’s right to choose, and for the third straight year, no laws or amendments were passed that restricted reproductive rights. With the hard work, leadership, and courage of many legislators, we were able to defeat all the attacks on reproductive rights and providers, and saw fewer anti-choice amendments come to a full vote. While we celebrate this victory, a tie vote in the House (vote #2 on the scorecard) serves as a reminder of how much work remains to be done.

One of NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota’s key legislative priorities this year was to preserve funding for the Family Planning Special Project (FPSP) grant program. FPSP funding serves an estimated 27,000 women and families annually, providing reproductive health care services to those who would otherwise be unable to receive them. These services include annual reproductive health check-ups and screenings, STI testing and treatment, and affordable birth control and contraceptives.

Governor Pawlenty’s proposed budget included a 20% reduction in funding for this program, and NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota mobilized its grassroots base to encourage their legislators to reinstate this vital program. In the end, funding for FPSP was reinstated and did not suffer further cuts through Governor Pawlenty’s unallotment process in June.

The bulk of the 2009 legislative session was spent dealing with the historic budget deficit, and rightly so. We thank all the members and legislators who worked to protect a woman’s right to choose, especially during these hard economic times.