Minnesota’s Republican legislators called a press conference Thursday in the lobby of the Minnesota Capitol to oppose the radical pro-abortion measures being passed across the country.
As was widely reported, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) signed the Reproductive Rights Act into law last week, clearing the way for abortions up to the moment of birth. In Virginia, State Del. Kathy Tran introduced The Repeal Act, a similar bill that would appeal restrictions on third-trimester abortions.
Discussing Tran’s legislation on WTOP, Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA) hinted that the bill could allow for letting newborn infants die.
“So in this particular example if a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen, the infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother,” Northam said.
It’s unclear precisely what Northam was suggesting, but many took it to mean that The Repeal Act would legalize what is essentially infanticide.
With a Democratic governor and a new Democratic House majority, Minnesota’s Republicans made it clear Thursday that they would oppose any similar legislation in the state. Senate Majority Paul Gazelka (R-Nisswa) began Thursday’s press conference by calling the Virginia proposal “infanticide, and in Minnesota that would be first-degree murder.”
“We’re not proposing any legislation today. We’re simply saying we’re putting the stake in the ground in Minnesota and saying that’s not going to happen here. And it’s my hope that other states, and leaders of other states, will also stand up and say, frankly, that this is too far,” Gazelka said.
Rep. Peggy Bennett (R-Albert Lea) said she was “shocked” and “saddened” by the proposals in New York and Virginia.
“It’s heart wrenching what I’m hearing. What’s come out of New York, what’s happening in Virginia—I do not want to see that happen in Minnesota,” she said.
“This isn’t about a pro-life camp, or a pro-choice camp trying to introduce new legislation. We’re asking everybody to thoughtfully reflect on this. Is this who we are? I’ve delivered 500 babies in my life and I worked desperately hard on the delivery table to make sure that we could bring them to full fruition and a full life,” Sen. Scott Jensen (R-Carver County) said. He went on to call the proposal “barbaric.”
“You can’t take someone who’s literally a few inches away from being in life and say we’re going to exterminate you. We all have to ask ourselves: who are we?” he concluded.
Gazelka said there have been some “discussions” in the Minnesota Legislature about late-term abortions, but emphasized that the intention of the press conference was to highlight the “barbaric” nature of such proposals.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Minnesota Republicans” by Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus.
