Session 2003 Budget and Taxes Business Environment Higher Education K-12 Education Health and Welfare Public Safety Stadium Transportation Audio Senate passes 24-hour abortion waiting period (story audio) Photos Protesters, both for and against the 24-hour waiting period bill More from MPR Abortion bill supporters outmaneuver Senate opponents (04/09/2003) Abortion bill dons new garb, heads to the Senate (04/07/2003) Resources Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, Minnesota chapter Your Voice Join the conversation with other MPR listeners in the News Forum.

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Senate passes 24-hour abortion waiting period
by Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio
April 14, 2003

Protesters, both for and against the 24-hour waiting period bill at the state Capitol Monday, as the Senate debated and then passed the measure. (MPR Photo/Tom Scheck)

Gov. Tim Pawlenty has signed into a law a measure that would require any woman seeking an abortion to wait 24 hours before the procedure is done. Minnesota is now the 19th state to have such a law. The Minnesota Senate passed the bill and sent it to the governor earlier Monday afternoon. Supporters of the waiting period say it provides women with information about possible risks. Opponents say the bill is an attempt to chip away at a woman's right to choose.

St. Paul, Minn. — The full Senate debated the merits of the bill for more than two hours. Supporters of the 24-hour waiting period say women aren't getting enough information about the abortion procedure. They say giving women the required information and requiring them to wait 24 hours before obtaining the abortion is reasonable.

Sen. Pat Pariseau, R-Farmington, says she hopes the bill will prompt women who want an abortion to reconsider their options.

"If ever there is a time to reconsider or take an extra moment -- what if it is 24 hours or what if it's 48 or 72 hours? It's worth it if the procedure you're considering is going to take a life," says Pariseau.

Specifically, the bill requires that women receive information on estimates of the pain a fetus might feel, by changing the definition of an unborn child to include the moment of fertilization, and by short-circuiting court challenges to the bill so they go straight to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Among the other information the bill requires that women be told, in person or on the telephone:

-The probable gestational age of the unborn child at the time the abortion is to be performed.

-Medical risks associated with abortions and with carrying a child to term.

-That state benefits may be available for prenatal, childbirth, and neonatal costs.

-That the father must help support the child.

Opponents say the bill is an attempt to undermine a woman's legal right to have an abortion. Several senators said they're concerned the bill provides women with incorrect information.

For example, the bill states women have a higher risk of breast cancer if they have an abortion. Many leading medical groups, like the National Cancer Institute, say there's no cause-and-effect relationship between the two.

Sen. Linda Scheid, DFL-Brooklyn Park, says the state already requires abortion providers to discuss the risks and complications of abortion. Scheid says the bill will also interfere with the doctor-patient relationship.

"You can't even get an antibiotic for a recurring strep throat infection over the phone. But you're going to ask a doctor to give you medical advice when they haven't even seen you, they don't even know if you're pregnant. I'm offended. I'm intellectually offended," Scheid says.

The bill arrived on the Senate floor through a parliamentary procedure by the Minnesota House. The House tacked the abortion provision onto a bill that would allow circuses during the run of the Minnesota State Fair. The maneuver forced senators to vote for the bill or send it to conference committee. They couldn't make any changes.

Sen. Jane Ranum, DFL-Minneapolis, says she's concerned that passing the bill would set a bad precedent. She says special interest groups, like Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, will continue to encourage the House to make similar maneuvers to control the Senate's agenda.

"It's my sincere belief that this vote is about the very independence of this body. It's not about abortion, it's not about the MCCL. That's just what today's vote is about," Ranum says.

Marice Rosenberg of MCCL, the state's largest anti-abortion group, says the Senate did exert its independence. She says polls show people were in favor of the bill and elected a House, Senate and governor to make it law.

"We have thousands of people in the state of Minnesota who are members of the organization. We have a very large grass roots organization out there and basically, public opinion has changed on this issue," says Rosenberg. "I think that's what's reflective of the votes here. That was reflective of the votes in the House."

The Senate vote ends nine years of lobbying over the 24-hour waiting period. It passed both bodies twice during Gov. Jesse Ventura's term, but Ventura vetoed it.

Pawlenty has no such reservations. He has described the bill as "common ground" on the divisive topic. "This is an example where pro-life and pro-choice could come together to support a reasonable alternative, and I wish they would," he said. Opponents of the waiting period say they're considering all options, including possible litigation, to stop the bill. Eighteen other states have such a law on the books.

Demonstrator on both sides of the issue showed up outside the chambers of the Senate. Perhaps 100 people, about two-thirds of them abortion opponents, held signs as they stood along steps leading to the chambers. Tim Stanley, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, said it was "a sad day for the women of this state."

Still pending in the Legislature is an abortion measure that would revoke any state funding for groups that provide abortions or discuss abortions as a viable option for women.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)

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