The following news release was issued on April 4, 2014.
ST. PAUL — Two pro-life amendments supported by Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL) were offered in the Minnesota House of Representatives on Thursday. Both were approved as part of a multibillion-dollar supplemental budget bill the House passed last night.
Rep. Mary Liz Holberg, R-Lakeville, offered an amendment to ban abortions at the point when the unborn child is able to feel pain. Originally introduced as H.F. 2927, the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act would protect unborn children from the excruciating suffering caused by abortion. Overwhelming anatomical, behavioral and physiological evidence confirms that the developing unborn child is capable of experiencing tremendous pain by 20 weeks post-fertilization. This evidence did not exist when the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision removed all protections for unborn children and established abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy.
The most common abortion procedure used at this point in development is dilation and evacuation (D & E), which involves dismembering the unborn child. The abortionist uses forceps to tear apart the fetus in the womb, and then reassembles the arms, legs, torso and head to ensure that no parts of the unborn child's body have been left inside the woman. Rep. Holberg's amendment was approved 70-60.
An amendment proposing that no Minnesota tax dollars may be used to fund the destruction of human life by abortion was brought by Rep. Patti Fritz, DFL-Faribault. First introduced as H.F. 901, the policy would end the injustice of forcing Minnesotans to pay for elective abortions. The Minnesota Supreme Court's 1995 Doe v. Gomez decision forced taxpayers to fund elective abortions performed on low-income women. However, most Minnesotans are opposed to taxpayer funded abortions. The amendment passed 69-61.
"Killing unborn babies and requiring Minnesota citizens to pay for it are both great injustices that must be corrected," said MCCL Legislative Director Andrea Rau.
Taxpayer funded abortions have swelled to 34 percent of all abortions performed in the state, according to the Minnesota Department of Human Services. In 2011 (most recent figures), taxpayers paid more than $1.2 million for 3,693 abortions. Since the Doe v. Gomez decision, the state has paid $19.9 million to the abortion industry for more than 62,000 abortions.
"Taxpayer funded abortions have become highly lucrative for abortionists, who market 'free abortions' to vulnerable women," Rau added. "The amendment would end this exploitation of women."
