MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota is on the verge of enshrining language into law guaranteeing the right to abortion for the first time in the state's 165-year history.
The proposal, known as the Protect Reproductive Options Act — PRO Act for short — passed the state Senate early Saturday on a 34-33 vote after 15 hours of debate. The bill already cleared the Minnesota House and upon Senate passage now heads to the desk of Gov. Tim Walz, who has said he will sign it into law.
"In Minnesota, we hold dear that all of us have a fundamental right to make autonomous decisions about our own reproductive health care decisions," said Sen. Jen McEwen, DFL-Duluth, the bill's sponsor. "We saw in last fall's election those values reflected when Minnesotans sent pro-choice, productive reproductive-freedom majorities."
