Setting the stage for another legal showdown, a Minnesota court has blocked several abortion laws approved by the state legislature and seemingly aligned with last month’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. Pro-life advocates refer to the court’s decision as an “extreme ruling.”
On Monday, Ramsey County Judge Thomas Gilligan ruled in a case known as Doe v. Minnesota striking down Minnesota’s informed consent and parental notification laws and the code stipulating that only licensed medical doctors perform abortions.
CBS seemed to applaud Gilligan’s ruling, noting:
“U.S. Supreme Court’s [ruling] last month … left the country with a patchwork of laws that in some cases seriously curtail or outright ban abortion. The 1995 Minnesota Supreme Court in Doe v. Gomez found that the state constitution protects the right to an abortion. … Pro-abortion rights advocates cheered the decision by Gilligan as a victory for those who live in Minnesota and will travel here for access.”
The outlet also included an excerpt from Gilligan’s ruling:
“These abortion laws violate the right to privacy because they infringe upon the fundamental right under the Minnesota Constitution to access abortion care and do not withstand strict scrutiny.”
Gilligan ruled that the law stipulating that abortions can only be performed by medical doctors in hospitals was unconstitutional and struck down the code that enforced criminal penalties for violations of that law.
Scott Fischbach, the Executive Director of pro-life advocacy group Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL), asserted the court’s decision must be appealed. Some, however, have pointed out that with the Supreme Court now in recess appealing the new state court decision will take months.
Defiance, aggressive protesting of conservative laws and strategic maneuvering to resist compliance seem to be common tactics in the left’s playbook.
In a press release, Fischbach said: “Today’s ruling striking [the laws] down is extreme and without a foundation in the Minnesota Constitution. Even the U.S. Supreme Court, under Roe v. Wade and subsequent decisions, allowed these very modest types of laws. Yet today’s ruling blocks them and prevents Minnesotans from enacting reasonable protections for unborn children and their mothers.”
Fischbach added: “A lot of women have been helped by these policies, ‘said Fishbach.’ Now they will be harmed as these protections are taken away by an egregiously mistaken court ruling, one that goes well beyond Roe v. Wade. This mistake must be corrected.”
The Epoch Times noted that Minnesota House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt also expressed his view that the ruling must be appealed.
“Attorney General [Keith] Ellison must appeal this ridiculous ruling and defend Minnesota’s longstanding bipartisan pro-life laws,” Daudt wrote on Twitter.
Following the Supreme Court’s June ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, several states are adopting laws limiting abortion services.
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