Minnesota’s Senate Republicans have introduced a bill that would ban abortions in the state after a fetal heartbeat is detected in a pregnant woman’s unborn child.
Senate File (SF) 869 was introduced Thursday and is co-sponsored by five Republican state senators, including Sens. Andrew Mathews (R-Milaca), Mark Koran (R-North Branch), Justin Eichorn (R-Grand Rapids), Mary Kiffmeyer (R-Big Lake), and Michelle Benson (R-Ham Lake).
“Except in the case of a medical emergency, a physician must first test a pregnant woman to determine if a fetal heartbeat is detectable in the pregnant woman’s unborn child before performing an abortion,” the bill states. “A physician shall not perform an abortion on a pregnant woman when it has been determined that the unborn child has a detectable fetal heartbeat, except in the case of a medical emergency.”
If passed, violation of the bill would result in a gross misdemeanor punishable by “imprisonment for not more than one year or payment of a fine of not more than $3,000 or both.”
Such bills are commonly referred to as “heartbeat bills” and have been introduced in several other state legislatures across the country. Ohio legislators, for instance, attempted to pass their own version of a heartbeat bill for the second time in 2018, but former Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) vetoed the bill.
If Republicans want to make a third effort at passing the bill, current Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) has said he would sign it into law.
But in Minnesota, a heartbeat bill currently doesn’t stand a chance of finding any meaningful support outside of the State Senate, since both the House and the Governor’s Mansion are controlled by Democrats.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Andrew Matthews (left)” by Andrew Matthews. Photo “Mark Koran (right)” by Mark Koran.
