The 1973 Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade made access to safe and legal abortion a constitutional right.

This week, the Supreme Court made an egregious decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to eliminate the constitutional right to abortion established nearly 50 years ago in Roe v. Wade.

Our right to safe, legal abortion is at risk

The consequences of this decision are widespread and tragic: 26 states are prepared to ban abortion in the coming months, leaving more than 36 million women of reproductive age — and other people who can become pregnant — without abortion access.

Minnesota is not immune to attacks on abortion. In fact, conservatives in the Minnesota House have introduced bills to ban abortion in each of the last three legislative sessions.

Minnesota conservative governor candidate Scott Jensen wants to ban abortion

And it gets worse. Conservative candidate for Minnesota Governor Scott Jensen threatened to ban abortion in Minnesota if elected. Now that the Supreme Court has decided to gut Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion, his threat is more real than ever. 

Scott Jensen intends to enact an extreme ban on abortions in Minnesota without any exceptions for rape or incest. He even supports a Texas-style law that bans abortion as early as six weeks, criminalizes abortion, allows strangers to collect $10,000 for reporting women who have abortions, and fines or arrests doctors who perform abortions.

Jensen’s running mate, Matt Birk, is just as dangerous. In 2013, Birk was exposed for his extreme anti-choice politics. Birk even refused to attend a White House event with his NFL teammates because President Obama supported a woman’s right to choose. 

Matt Birk also said that Planned Parenthood was next to the KKK as the most racist organization in America and said rape victims shouldn’t be able to get an abortion.

Jensen’s promise to ban abortion is also wildly out of touch with the needs and wants of Minnesotans. Sixty percent of Minnesota voters say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, and sixty-five percent would oppose new severe restrictions on abortion. 

We need to hold Scott Jensen accountable

With our neighboring states prepared to ban abortion now that Roe has been overturned, Minnesota remains a crucial provider for abortion care in the Midwest. In fact, Minnesota abortion providers are already seeing an overwhelming influx of patients from other states looking for the care they need.

If Scott Jensen stays true to his promise, abortion access will be on the line for millions of women. 

We need to fight back.

Sign up to help us hold dangerous conservatives like Scott Jensen accountable and keep abortion bans off our bodies.