It’s Women’s History Month! Women are making history throughout Minnesota and across the nation but it isn’t easy to celebrate this month without reconciling with the reality of reproductive rights at this moment. We’ve entered a dark age of attacks on abortion, fertility treatment, and reproductive health care like never before. 

 Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that affirmed the constitutional right to abortion, was overturned in June of 2022. Since then, conservatives across the country have been passing and implementing extreme legislation on all things reproductive health, from abortions to gender-affirming care and contraception.

Since then, twenty-four states have banned abortion, and over eighty abortion restrictions have been signed into law. 

What’s happening in Alabama?

Making devastating history, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos have personhood and are considered “children” and that if destroyed, there can be legal ramifications. This news threw the state including its fertility doctors and in-vitro fertilization (IVF) patients—into a state of confusion about the legality of fertility treatments. 

As a result of the ruling, Alabama patients could have a much harder time finding a doctor who will take on the legal risks of providing IVF treatment.

The first of its kind, the Alabama ruling is a test for conservatives across the country to pursue similar restrictions in other states. This ruling that frozen embryos can be considered as children under the law is as ridiculous as it is enraging. 

SCOTUS to consider banning abortion medication

Meanwhile, the United States Supreme Court is soon to consider a case that would restrict access to the abortion drug mifepristone. Mifepristone is safe and effective and has been used by more than five million people in the United States for abortion and miscarriage care since the FDA approved it more than 20 years ago. Mifepristone has also helped ensure that patients can make their own private medical decisions and has expanded access to reproductive health care. 

Minnesota’s conservative congressional delegation – Representatives Brad Finstad, Michelle Fischbach, and Pete Stauber – joined an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to ban the use of the drug. 

Even though Minnesota has legal protections for abortion care, the case could still have devastating effects by banning abortion medication. In 2023, sixty-one percent of abortions performed in Minnesota were administered through medication. The ruling could also prohibit shipments of other medical supplies used in clinics, effectively suppressing abortion procedures in all 50 states. 

Meanwhile, in Minnesota…

Here in Minnesota, our progressive leaders have taken major steps to protect our access to reproductive health care.

Our right to safe, legal abortion is protected by a Minnesota Supreme Court decision and was codified into law by progressives in the Minnesota Legislature. 

The Reproductive Freedom Defense Act also protects out-of-state patients who come to Minnesota to seek care. 

Now, progressives in the Minnesota Legislature are advocating for IVF and other forms of fertility treatment to be covered by health insurance.

Progressives understand that building a better Minnesota means empowering doctors and patients to make the best possible health care decisions together. 

Help Us Hold Conservatives Accountable

We’re thankful to live in a state that values bodily autonomy and the fundamental right to abortion. And we’re grateful to our progressive leaders for taking bold action to codify abortion rights and protect patients and physicians from other states.

But the ongoing attacks from conservatives on abortion rights are unacceptable. Fundamental to women’s history is the resilience of those fighting for reproductive rights. With reproductive rights under attack like never before, our resilience must persevere. 

We need to hold conservatives accountable for trying to take away our reproductive freedoms so that we can continue to build a better Minnesota for the years to come.

Explore our app Megaphone, to join our movement fighting against conservative extremism. 

And sign up to help us hold conservatives accountable.