Statement from UnRestrict Minnesota on the Supreme Court Decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 24, 2022

CONTACT
Erin Hart, Communications Director
erin.hart@unrestrictmn.org

For the first time in nearly 50 years, the Supreme Court has ruled to allow state politicians to ban or severely restrict abortion. Twenty six states are likely to ban abortion within the next few years.

Even though abortion remains legal in Minnesota, not everyone who needs an abortion here can get one – and the barriers for some are overwhelming. Minnesota has not been spared from onerous restrictions on abortion that are unrelated to healthcare or science, and that block or delay access to care here daily. We have a medically unnecessary 24-hour waiting period and a harmful mandated script filled with inaccurate statements that doctors must read to patients. Advanced Practice Clinicians, like nurses and physician assistants, are banned from providing abortion despite it being very safely within their scope of practice and it being legal in other states. These restrictions, among others, harm patients seeking care every day across Minnesota.

“With abortion access now at risk across the country because of the recent Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, we must do more to make abortion care available in Minnesota now,” says Abena Abraham, UnRestrict Minnesota’s Campaign Director. “Abortion care must be available to anyone who needs it, wherever they live, whoever they are, however much they make.” Our clinics have already seen a surge of patients from states where abortion has already been banned – and these numbers will only increase in the coming months.

The decision whether or when to become a parent is one of the most important ones we will make in our lives. Abortion allows people to make the decision that is best for themselves so they can thrive. But for too many pregnant people, abortion care has always been out of reach – even when Roe v. Wade was the law of the land. As abortion bans prevent access to this healthcare, the burden falls hardest on people who already face systemic racism and discrimination in this country, including people of color, people who are undocumented, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ people, as well as those who are young, have low incomes, or live in rural areas.

Our state must do better. We can make sure that people who want an abortion can get one in Minnesota. Minnesotans want abortion to be practiced according to up-to-date medical standards; timely; available in their community from their primary care doctor or OB-GYN; affordable; and free from shame, stigma, and protestors. That’s why we we are fighting in the courts and at the State Capitol to remove laws that make it difficult to get an abortion. We are ready for this moment. In fact, we are announcing our “Minnesota Beyond Roe: The Leadership Agenda for Abortion Access” later this afternoon.

Everyone loves someone who has had an abortion or will need abortion care in the future. Abortion is healthcare. Period.

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UnRestrict Minnesota is a multi-racial coalition of cross-sector organizations working to protect, expand, and destigmatize access to abortion care—and all reproductive healthcare—in Minnesota through public education, advocacy, and the law.