{"id":312652,"date":"2024-05-21T18:02:57","date_gmt":"2024-05-21T23:02:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=312652"},"modified":"2024-09-20T15:26:49","modified_gmt":"2024-09-20T20:26:49","slug":"minnesota-lawmakers-abortion-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/minnesota-lawmakers-abortion-era\/","title":{"rendered":"Minnesota lawmakers fail to pass extreme abortion amendment"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Minnesota lawmakers on Sunday failed to pass the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which would have put a ballot measure before voters that enshrines a “right” to abortion in the state’s constitution.<\/p>\n

Legislators in the Senate adjoined<\/a> their final session late Sunday night without voting on the amendment. Though it doesn’t state the word “abortion,” the amendment aims to protect it. The amendment<\/a> says the “state shall not discriminate against any person in intent or effect on account of […] making and effectuating decisions about all matters relating to one\u2019s own pregnancy or decision whether to become or remain pregnant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pro-life advocates campaigned heavily against the amendment, even creating a digital ad<\/a> to inform voters and lawmakers about the amendment’s extreme language, which would have allowed abortion up to birth for any reason.<\/p>\n

\u201cMinnesotans all across the state have been telling their legislators: We don\u2019t want abortion-up-to-birth\u00a0permanently mandated by our Constitution,\u201d\u00a0said<\/a> Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL) Co-Executive Director Cathy Blaeser. \u201cNor do we want you to deceive us about what you\u2019re\u00a0really trying to do. Polls show that most Minnesotans don’t\u00a0want abortion added to the ERA, and\u00a0most don’t\u00a0want unlimited abortion. This ERA isn\u2019t\u00a0about equal rights at all. It\u2019s\u00a0extreme, exclusionary, and dishonest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blaeser noted her organization will continue to fight for pro-life protections in the state.<\/p>\n

“MCCL has campaigned extensively in recent weeks to inform Minnesotans about our state’s abortion-up-to-birth policy and the deceptive ERA,” she said. “And we aren’t going to stop. We’re going to tell Minnesotans the truth, and Minnesotans are going to continue to make their voices heard.”<\/p>\n