HF 4524 would outlaw abortion from the moment a fetal heartbeat is detected through abdominal ultrasound–as early as six weeks, before most women even know they are pregnant. This is an extreme move that jeopardizes people's health, defying constitutional rights and all medical standards for reproductive health care.
This dangerous “Heartbeat” legislation is functionally a 6-week abortion ban that would effectively ban nearly all abortion in the state, with rare exception, by relying on the detection of fetal heartbeat—an arbitrary measure that politicians are using to advance an extreme anti-choice agenda. A similar law was recently passed in Iowa and is already facing a legal challenge from the ACLU and Planned Parenthood.
This type of ban has been struck down as unconstitutional in every state where it has been passed into law, so why is the Minnesota Legislature wasting taxpayer dollars forwarding a bill that is blatantly unconstitutional?
Their motivation is clear: to create a vehicle to legally challenge Roe v. Wade. If passed, these bills would open the door to endless litigation and legal wrangling, clogging our already crowded courts and costing Minnesota taxpayers more of their hard-earned money.
In fact, the politicians sponsoring this bill are so outside the mainstream of common-sense thinking, they know it won't become law. The author, Representative Tim Miller, admitted he knows this bill was introduced too late in the legislative session to go anywhere, but hopes it can pass next year when Minnesota has a new Governor.
Politicians are not the experts and should not be dictating personal, private decisions that should be made by individuals in consultation with their doctors and their families. A person should have the right to make decisions about their own health care and body without government intrusion.
Tags: minnesota