Dear Pastors,

            Thank you so much for your continued lifting of the Minnesota legislature in prayer. The priorities laid out by the majority parties in both Houses are expanding so-called abortion rights, putting transgender surgeries over parental rights, and legalizing marijuana, among other issues. Minnesota Family Council and our legal initiative True North Legal are working around the clock to stop any and all of these bills during this session. This week I’ve been regularly reminded of Ephesians 6:12: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rules of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” My prayer of Thanksgiving this week is that God is just. He exacts justice for both the victims and the oppressors. It is our job to be messengers of truth. More information and more bills will be coming. Please keep our work in prayer.

Psalm 145:13: “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures forever.”

In Jesus,

Becca Delahunt, Acting Director of Public Policy

(note that identical bills must pass the House and Senate to be written into law; hence bills have both a House file and a Senate file.)

Life

Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act (HF1/SF1)

Minnesota Family Council testimony here. There is so much that can be said about this bill’s extreme overreach. We addressed three significant problems with the bill:

·       The bill codifies the right to abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, up to the moment of a child’s birth, with no respect to a baby’s development or the health and safety of the pregnant mother. For context, it took 50 years to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision on abortion in the Roe v. Wade case. Roe was not statute – it was an interpretation of statute. It is often very difficult to overturn monumental laws.

·       The bill states that each individual has the right to “reproductive health care,” with no definition given for the word “individual.” This means that boys and girls have the right to “reproductive health care,” which the bill authors define as “ including but not limited to, contraception; sterilization; preconception care; maternity care; abortion care; family planning and fertility services; and counseling regarding reproductive health care.”

·       The bill legalizes the right of minors to sterilization without parental or guardian consent.

One other significant question regarding this bill that we do not have an answer for is whether this bill states that every individual has the right to commercial surrogacy. The bill is not comprehensive in its definitions. What does “including but not limited to” mean exactly? Pray for clarity and that the broad wording of this bill is its downfall.

The “How-to” of PRO Act (HF91/SF70)

I highly recommend that you watch the exchange between members of the committee in the bill’s first stop at the House Health Finance and Policy Committee. Start the video around minute 39.

·       HF91 forces all Minnesotans to pay for all abortion services through Medical Assistance (Medicaid.) Taxpayers currently pay for abortions done only in the cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is in danger. According to 2021 reporting from Minnesota Department of Health, these scenarios accounted for less than a percentage of abortions in Minnesota (see pages 19 and 20.)

·       HF91 repeals the law protecting children born during abortion surgery (Born Alive Infants Protection Act,) legalizing infanticide.

·       HF91 repeals statutes which ensure that pregnant women give informed consent prior to abortion. 

Gender/Sexuality

Minnesota Family Council will testify on the multiple upcoming gender ideology and sexualization of children bills:

·       The Kidnapping Bill (HF146/SF63): this bill takes custody from parents or guardians when “gender affirming care” is denied to their minor son or daughter. “Gender-affirming care” includes puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and potentially sex mutilation surgeries.

·       The “Conversion Therapy” Ban Bill: (SF23/HF16): this bill bans mental health professionals from helping minors and vulnerable adults (yes, even adults with physical disabilities) as they struggle with sexual and/or gender identity. The bill states that it is illegal to help a minor or vulnerable adult who struggles with identity bring them into alignment with their created sexed body. Instead, mental health professionals will only be able to provide counseling that helps minors or vulnerable adults in “gender transition” or to take on homosexual identity.

·       Comprehensive Sex Education: (HF174): this bill mandates schools to teach children about the “spectrum” of sexuality. CSE exposes children to gender identity and trains them to think in terms of stereotypes. If the girl feels like she does not fit the stereotype of a girl, CSE encourages her to wonder whether the gender identity she was “assigned at birth” (female) may have been a mistake.

The Gender Unicorn - An image used in Comprehensive Sex Education curricula.