Know your rights to abortion and reproductive healthcare in Minnesota
In its 1995 decision in Doe v. Gomez, the Minnesota Supreme Court found that the Minnesota Constitution guarantees the right of every Minnesotan to terminate a pregnancy. The Court explicitly found that the Minnesota Constitution offers broader protection than the United States Constitution of a person’s fundamental right to make reproductive healthcare choices without state interference.
The U.S. Supreme Court will shortly decide Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on the basis of the U.S. Constitution. However, no matter what the U.S. Supreme Court decides in Dobbs, Minnesotans’ rights will continue to be protected by the Minnesota Constitution.
Before and after the Dobbs decision, Attorney General Ellison’s office will issue guidance to Minnesotans about their rights to the reproductive healthcare of their choice, including abortion.
Below is guidance for providers of abortion and reproductive healthcare.
- Minn. Stat. § 145.4242 requires physicians or referring physicians to provide patients with specific information 24 hours before performing an abortion. However, those disclosures are not required in medical emergencies or in care provided in the course of managing a miscarriage. In addition, the 24-hour delay does not apply to medical emergencies or miscarriage management.
- For all other abortion procedures, the physician or referring physician is only obligated to inform the patient about the “medically accurate” risks associated with the procedure. If, in the physician’s judgment, the procedure does not lead to risks of breast cancer, danger to subsequent pregnancies, or infertility, the physician or referring physician is not required to discuss those items.
- Although Minn. Stat. § 145.412 imposes criminal penalties for performing an abortion in specific limited circumstances, no abortion provider in Minnesota has ever been convicted of a violation under this law based on conduct within the scope of their medical practice.
