{"id":286645,"date":"2023-03-17T08:43:26","date_gmt":"2023-03-17T13:43:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=286645"},"modified":"2024-09-20T12:10:51","modified_gmt":"2024-09-20T17:10:51","slug":"fact-check-late-abortions-dire-medical-reasons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fact-check-late-abortions-dire-medical-reasons\/","title":{"rendered":"FACT CHECK: ‘Late abortions are sought mostly for dire medical reasons’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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During abortion debates in Minnesota earlier this year, the issue of abortions taking place late in pregnancy was mentioned. One doctor, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, took the opportunity to speak with MPR News about late abortions, but failed to mention the truth: they are not<\/em> done only for dire medical reasons.<\/p>\n

The abortion landscape in Minnesota<\/h3>\n

In January, Minnesota enacted<\/a> the Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act, which immediately enshrined abortion as a ‘right’ in the state, although the state supreme court had already erroneously ruled the direct, intentional killing of an undelivered human to be a ‘right’. By enshrining it as a state constitutional right, however, legislators made it extremely difficult for a pro-life law ever to be passed by future generations.<\/p>\n

Abortion advocates in the state House are now taking their dedication to abortion access even further by pushing for the passage of the Reproductive Freedom Codification Act, which would remove any laws regulating abortion<\/em> that are on the books in Minnesota.<\/p>\n

This includes a two-parent notification law for minors, a 24-hour waiting period, a requirement that only a physician carry out an abortion, and a requirement that abortions after the first trimester be committed in a hospital.<\/p>\n

In July,\u00a0Judge Thomas Gilligan ordered state officials not to enforce any of these laws, and Attorney General Keith Ellison failed to file an appeal. Gilligan also struck down laws requiring abortionists to inform women of the certain medical risks of abortion, and blocked felony penalties for abortionists who break state regulations.<\/p>\n

If the Reproductive Freedom Codification Act passes, Sen. Zach Duckworth warned that Minnesota will be facing an abortion “free for all” \u2014 abortion at any time for any reason, with little hope of ever placing any regulations on the deadly procedures again.<\/p>\n

Duckworth argued that Minnesotans expect<\/em> legislators to place limits, “especially [for abortions] so late in a pregnancy, to try and safeguard and protect life.”\u00a0Very few Americans believe that abortion should be legal through all nine months. A Pew Research 2022 poll<\/a> found that only 19% of respondents support abortion throughout pregnancy for any reason, with no exceptions.<\/p>\n