Press Release

With Roe v. Wade and access to abortion being threatened at the national level, the records of the GOP gubernatorial candidates put Minnesota one vote away from completely gutting abortion rights.

The Supreme Court is currently weighing a decision to uphold a Mississippi law that would ban almost all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. This case is the most direct challenge to Roe v. Wade in nearly three decades.

All of the GOP gubernatorial candidates are fiercely opposed to abortion and a number have voiced their support for a Texas-style abortion ban. In the legislature, Paul Gazelka co-authored legislation that sought to ban most abortions after 20 weeks and wrote a bill to ban state funding from being used to pay for abortions despite not knowing if state funding went to abortions. Michelle Benson pushed to follow the example of some Republican-led states that have sought to ban most abortions at 20 weeks, a move that could expose doctors who perform abortions after that point to felony charges. And Scott Jensen voted to institute a requirement that doctors offer to show an ultrasound image prior to an abortion if one was taken.

Republican State Representative Tim Miller has pledged to introduce a Texas-style abortion ban

in Minnesota which would be signed into law if Gazelka, Benson, Jensen, or any other GOP candidate became governor. 

DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin released the following statement: 

“Minnesota Republicans have made it clear that if one of their far-right, anti-abortion candidates for governor wins in 2022, they will move swiftly to enact an abortion ban against the wishes of a large majority of Minnesotans. Scott Jensen, Michelle Benson, and Paul Gazelka love to talk about medical freedom but want to force women to have unwanted or medically dangerous pregnancies. To stop that from happening, it is essential that DFLers win up and down the ballot in the upcoming midterm elections.”