Minnesota Senate passes drastic pro-abortion law

This Saturday the Minnesota Senate passed a controversial pro-abortion bill stating that "every person has the fundamental right to make autonomous decisions about his or her own reproductive health."

Democrats fast-tracked the legislation in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision striking down Roe v. Wade which guaranteed the right to abortion.

The bill passed with a 34-33 vote margin after 15 hours of intense debate and some 35 failed attempts by Republicans to amend the bill with "guardrails" to restrict abortions in the third trimester of pregnancy and exclude sterilization from the definition of reproductive rights.

Republicans have highlighted that this bill sets no limits on abortion, going so far as to allow pregnancies to be terminated up to the date of birth.

"We are enacting the most extreme bill in the country," Senate Republican Leader Mark Johnson warned.

Cathy Blaeser, co-executive director of the nonprofit organization Minnesota Citizens Concerned About Life, explained that this bill makes it possible for any baby to be aborted for any reason, which would place Minnesota "in the same category as just a handful of countries around the world, including North Korea and China."

"Under this bill, even babies who are old enough to live outside the womb and to feel excruciating pain have no protection from lethal violence," she said, stressing that it will also take away parents' ability to know if their underage daughters are subjected to this procedure.

"The lack of parental involvement allows the most heinous of criminals—human and sex traffickers—to hide behind the doors of the unlicensed, uninspected abortion facility (...) These traffickers are happily watching this legislature advance extreme, unfettered abortion bills that enable them to continue to traffic their victims," she added.