Minnesota Democrat Gov. Tim Walz pushed to turn Minnesota into an abortion “safe haven” just one day after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been at the forefront of the Biden administration’s pro-abortion policies, selected Walz on Tuesday to be her running mate for the 2024 presidential election. The Minnesota governor issued an executive order on June 25, 2022, that said individuals entering Minnesota from states that restrict abortion would not be extradited for receiving the procedure.
“Reproductive freedom is a right under Minnesota law…that right no longer exists in many states, including many of our neighboring states,” Walz wrote in the order, bemoaning the restrictions states would soon apply. “The impending loss of freedom to people around the nation poses an imminent threat to the health and safety of people in Minnesota to the extent that other states may seek to infringe on essential liberties protected by the Minnesota Constitution.”
To our neighbors in Iowa: Minnesota is and will remain a safe haven for reproductive freedom.
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) June 28, 2024
The June 2022 emergency order banned state agencies from assisting “any investigation or proceeding that seeks to impose civil or criminal liability or professional sanctions upon a person or entity” for receiving an abortion in the state.
“I will exercise my discretion to decline requests for the arrest or surrender of any person charged with a criminal violation of a law of another state where the violation alleged involves the provision of, assistance with, securing of, or receipt of reproductive health care services, unless the acts forming the basis of the prosecution of the crime charged would also constitute a criminal offense under Minnesota law,” the order reads.
In 2022, there were 12,175 total abortions in Minnesota, with 226 occurring after 21 weeks of pregnancy.
Abortions performed in Minnesota in 2022 increased by 20% from 2021, with 17% coming from out-of-state women, a seven point increase compared to the previous year, according to the state’s health department. The number of North Dakota residents receiving abortions in Minnesota went up from 84 to 383, Iowa residents from 56 to 174, and Texas residents from 18 to 150, all states that severely restricted the procedure that year.
In 2023, Walz signed a law enshrining a right to abortion into Minnesota’s constitution with no restrictions, making it nearly irreversible. That same year he signed a bill reversing a requirement that physicians provide care for infants that are born alive after a failed abortion attempt.
As vice president, Harris has been open about her pro-abortion agenda, earning endorsements from several pro-abortion groups and even campaigning at a Minnesota abortion clinic in early 2024. Harris previously voted against bills that would have protected babies that can feel pain and born-alive babies.
“Kamala Harris’ selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, reaffirms Harris’ extreme views on the issue of life,” Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life Action, said in a statement. “Harris and Walz share a longstanding history of hostility towards pregnant women in need and their unborn children.”
Walz’s office and the Harris campaign did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
(Featured image credit: Screenshot – Office of the Governor of Minnesota/YouTube)
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
