On the Issues: Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Conservative Matt Birk Couldn’t Be More Different 

Conservative candidate for Minnesota governor Scott Jensen has chosen anti-choice extremist Matt Birk as his running mate for the 2022 gubernatorial election. 

Birk has a mile-long track record of promoting extreme and wildly out-of-touch policies. He is an outspoken opponent of marriage equality, promotes extreme anti-choice bans on abortion, and has been caught spreading baseless misinformation about COVID-19. 

Birk even argued that Planned Parenthood is next to the KKK as the most racist organization in America. And he said rape victims shouldn’t be able to get an abortion, a callous position considering that Scott Jensen has repeatedly threatened to ban abortion in Minnesota without exceptions for rape or incest.

Matt Birk couldn’t be more different than current Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan. 

Lieutenant Governor Flanagan is a longtime advocate for children, families, communities of color, and indigenous people. And she has spent the last four years working with Governor Tim Walz to improve Minnesota public education, make health care more accessible and affordable, and build economic opportunities for Minnesota’s working families. 

Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion rights in Minnesota are on the line, and the difference between Peggy Flanagan and Matt Birk’s plans for Minnesota couldn’t be more different. While Peggy has promised to protect abortion rights in Minnesota, Matt Birk wants to turn back the clock on women’s rights.

Here is where Matt Birk and Peggy Flanagan stand  on abortion rights:

Matt Birk is the Epitome of an Anti-Choice Extremist

This summer, a video surfaced of Matt Birk making wildly offensive comments about women and abortion and promising to pass laws that ban abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest at a National Right to Life conference in June 2022, the day that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. 

In the video, Birk celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. He compared safe, legal abortion to slavery and said, “women used to not be able to vote, now we let them drive.” 

He also reiterated that he doesn’t believe that rape victims should be able to get abortions and said that “if a woman is unexpectedly pregnant, she could be the answer to someone’s prayer.” 

Birk also repeated his and Scott Jensen’s intentions to ban abortion in Minnesota with no exceptions for rape or incest. 

Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan is a Proven Pro-Choice Champion

On the other hand, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan has promised to protect the right to choose in Minnesota. With Roe overturned, she is committed to codifying abortion access into Minnesota law. 

Following the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, the Lieutenant Governor promised to fight conservative attacks on abortion and stand up for reproductive rights. 

She assured Minnesotans that she and Governor Walz would protect the right to choose:  

“As long as we are in the governor’s office, Gov. Walz and I will not put anti-choice judges on the state Supreme Court, and we will block any anti-choice legislation. The Republican ticket has promised to pass one of the most extreme abortion bans in the nation – we cannot let that happen.”

Abortion is essential health care. And the decision about whether or not to have an abortion is deeply personal and best left to women and their doctors. 

Peggy Flanagan is a proven champion for Minnesotans and will protect the right to abortion as lieutenant governor. 

But Matt Birk has made it clear that he does not believe everyone should have the freedom and power to control their own bodies and lives.

We need to hold extreme conservatives like Matt Birk accountable. Sign up to help us do this work.