SAINT PAUL, Minnesota (LifeSiteNews) – In a win for the pro-life cause, Minnesota lawmakers closed their latest legislative session over the weekend without agreeing to put before voters a so-called “Equal Rights Amendment” that would be used to establish a “right” to abortion-on-demand.
SF 37 proposed an amendment to the Minnesota Constitution stating, “All persons shall be guaranteed equal rights under the laws of this state. The state shall not discriminate against any person in intent or effect on account of one or more of the following,” then proceeding to list race, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, or “sex, including but not limited to: making and effectuating decisions about all matters relating to one’s own pregnancy or decision whether to become or remain pregnant; gender identity or gender expression; or sexual orientation.”
Minnesota Public Radio reported that the latest version of the amendment passed the Minnesota House early Sunday but was not taken up by the state Senate before the deadline. State Democrats say they will try again next year if they win and retain enough seats in the November elections.
“Minnesotans all across the state have been telling their legislators: We don’t want abortion up to birth permanently mandated by our Constitution,” Minnesota Concerned Citizens for Life co-executive director Cathy Blaeser responded. “Nor do we want you to deceive us about what you’re really trying to do. Polls show that most Minnesotans don’t want abortion added to the ERA, and most don’t want unlimited abortion. This ERA isn’t about equal rights at all. It’s extreme, exclusionary, and dishonest.”
The group also noted that polls have found most Minnesotans do not favor unlimited abortion-on-demand and believe that abortion policy should be considered separately from whether to add a more general Equal Rights Amendment.
Abortion is already effectively legal up to birth in Minnesota, and in fact Democrat Gov. Tim Walz has touted the state as a de facto refuge from the pro-life laws of other states since the overturn of Roe v. Wade.
Since 2022, the abortion lobby has had great success with state constitutional amendments, which if enacted effectively insulate abortion-on-demand from future state legislation and can only be overridden by a federal abortion ban, prompting much conversation among pro-lifers about the need to develop new strategies to protect life at the ballot box.
Pro-lifers have either failed to enact pro-life amendments or stop pro-abortion ones in California, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Vermont, and Ohio. This year, there are four abortion-related ballot initiatives slated for the November elections, with as many as 11 more that could be approved for consideration as well.