The following MCCL news release was issued today, Aug. 27., in response to recent comments from the Mark Dayton campaign claiming he supports late-term abortion restrictions and parental notification when a minor seeks an abortion.
MINNEAPOLIS – Mark Dayton, one of the two major-party pro-abortion candidates for governor, has released confused and conflicting positions on the abortion issue. Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL) is calling for Dayton to state clearly whether he supports the extreme agenda of the abortion industry.
"Mark Dayton needs to clear away all of the confusion surrounding his abortion stance," said MCCL Executive Director Scott Fischbach. "Minnesotans want the candidates for governor to be clear and direct about where they stand on the issues, and Dayton and his spokespersons have issued muddled messages on abortion."
Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota announced its whole-hearted endorsement of Dayton on Wednesday. The endorsement reflects Dayton's record in the U.S. Senate, where he co-sponsored the Freedom of Choice Act, also known as FOCA, in 2004. The radical legislation would have wiped out all state and federal pro-life laws across the nation and codified abortion on demand in federal law. It was the most extreme and far-reaching bill ever introduced by the abortion industry and would have prevented any effort to protect unborn children and their mothers.
In direct conflict with FOCA, a Dayton spokesperson said in a WNMT Radio story Thursday that Dayton supports parental notification for minor girls before an abortion can be performed on them. But FOCA would outlaw parental notification of any kind. And as a senator, Dayton voted twice against legislation to require parental notice when a minor is taken across state lines for an abortion, in violation of the law in the state in which they live. Planned Parenthood has fought fiercely at the Minnesota Legislature against parental notification bills for decades.
Also at odds with FOCA, his spokesperson stated that Dayton also is opposed to "third-term abortions" (presumably third-trimester) with some exceptions. Planned Parenthood has never tolerated opposition to any abortion, for any reason or at any point in pregnancy. It fought long and hard against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, which brought an end to the brutal method of abortion in which the child was killed moments before birth by puncturing the skull and suctioning out the brains, ensuring the birth of a dead baby. The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act was passed by Congress in 2003; Dayton voted against it twice. How can he now oppose late-term abortions?
"Has Dayton flip-flopped on his absolute opposition to parental notification, which is central to Planned Parenthood's abortion advocacy? And does he suddenly regret his votes against the partial-birth abortion ban?" Fischbach asked. "If so, why would Planned Parenthood endorse a candidate who disagrees with its own agenda? His campaign appears to be in chaos, at least over the issue of protecting human life from abortion."
