MINNESOTA'S
ABORTION INDUSTRY
In 2017, more than 99 percent of Minnesota abortions were performed in freestanding abortion facilities, not hospitals. The number of these centers in Minnesota has declined to just five in recent years: Planned Parenthood (St. Paul), Whole Woman’s Health of the Twin Cities (Minneapolis), Mildred Hanson (Minneapolis), Robbinsdale Clinic (Minneapolis), and Women’s Health Center (Duluth). Planned Parenthood also prescribes chemical abortions remotely to women at its Rochester center.
MCCL Executive Committee member Cathy Blaeser at governor's mansion rally against Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (PPMNS)—the local affiliate of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America—is the state’s leading abortion provider. In 2017, Planned Parenthood performed a record 6,234 abortions, 61 percent of the statewide total, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. The group’s abortion numbers, revenue, and government funding have continued to increase over time, even as overall abortions in the state have consistently declined. From 2008 to
2017, Planned Parenthood increased its abortion total by 58 percent while abortions fell 21 percent statewide. In 2016, PPMNS was reimbursed $521,596 by taxpayers for 2,322 abortions performed on low-income women, according to the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
PPMNS opened its large new headquarters in St. Paul at the end of 2011 (replacing its previous St. Paul center). Planned Parenthood’s non-abortion facilities across the state refer women to the St. Paul center for abortions. Planned Parenthood also began offering “webcam abortions” at its Rochester facility in 2010—chemical abortions are prescribed via webcam to women in
Rochester by a doctor located in St. Paul. This method allows PPMNS to expand abortion to more locations, but it only exacerbates the risks of chemical abortions to the health of women.
Planned Parenthood is also very active politically, working to elect pro-abortion political candidates and fighting against pro-life legislation.
Whole Woman’s Health
Whole Woman’s Health (WWH) is a Texas-based abortion chain that arrived in Minnesota in 2012, purchasing two abortion centers and consolidating them into one downtown Minneapolis location. WWH is now the second-leading abortion practitioner in the state, performing 2,012 abortions in 2017. WWH clinics in Texas have a history of violating state health codes and other requirements.
No oversight
Abortion centers in Minnesota are neither licensed nor inspected by the state—even though dangerous conditions and unscrupulous providers have been exposed in clinics in many other states. MCCL supports legislation to apply to abortion centers the same basic health and safety standards that apply to all other outpatient surgical centers.