Yes, Minnesota did legalize infanticide
In 2023, the pro-abortion movement found itself with majorities in both the Minnesota State House and Senate, and in control of the governorship. As previously discussed on this blog, their first priority for the 2023 legislative session was to bring unlimited abortion-up-to-birth to Minnesota. Unsatisfied with removing all protections for babies in the womb, in the Health Omnibus Budget bill the pro-abortion majority gutted the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act, which had been passed with bipartisan support in 2015.
The 2015 Born-Alive Act said:
A born alive infant as a result of an abortion shall be fully recognized as a human person, and accorded immediate protection under the law. All reasonable measures consistent with good medical practice, including the compilation of appropriate medical records, shall be taken by the responsible medical personnel to preserve the life and health of the born alive infant.
The Act also required abortionists to report instances of babies surviving attempted abortions, as well as the measures taken to care for them, to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). Over the seven years in which this was required, 24 infants were reported as surviving abortions, according to MDH. In some cases the babies were reported to be pre-viable or to have fatal conditions, and no "futile" measures to save the babies were carried out—contrary to the claims of opponents of this law (see below).
In 2023, pro-abortion legislators undertook a major rewrite of the law as part of SF 2995. This included the removal of the reporting requirement, so that the public will no longer know how often abortions “fail” (due to the live birth of the baby) under the new regime of basically unlimited abortion. Even worse—and just as unbelievable as permitting unlimited abortion—they removed critical protections for newborns.
SF 2995 replaced the requirement to “preserve the life and health of the born alive infant” with a requirement to “care for the infant who is born alive.” When the bill author was asked to define “care” in a committee hearing and again on the House floor, she answered “comfort care.” Unwanted babies can now legally be wrapped in a blanket and set aside to die. And because the reporting requirements were removed, we will never know how often that happens.
As mentioned earlier, proponents of the change say that it’s a humane change, that babies will no longer have to be ripped from their mothers’ arms and subjected to invasive, painful, and ultimately futile treatments. Of course, this ignores the plain language of the previous statute: “reasonable measures consistent with good medical practice.” The picture painted by the pro-abortion movement is entirely false, and it’s further contradicted by the state reports showing that futile care was not provided under the previous law.
The 2015 Born Alive Infant Protection Act focused specifically on babies who survive abortion. The new law replaced “born alive infant as a result of an abortion” with “infant who is born alive.” This means all newborns. Any unwanted newborn can be put aside. This puts disabled babies at particular risk: whether it be parents who weren’t aware of their child’s disability and don’t want an “imperfect” baby or the heartbreaking cases where doctors refuse to treat a disabled baby over the objections of the parent.
The pro-abortion movement says these concerns are overstated because the new law retains the statement “fully recognized as a human person, and accorded immediate protection under the law.” However, this is also true of every person who is refused a lifesaving organ transplant, and every person whose life support is removed by a hospital ethics committee. The statement does not require any specific medical treatment.
Minnesota’s laws are so extreme that most well-intentioned pro-choice people cannot believe that infanticide is permitted in the state. That should be unbelievable. If you don’t feel confident explaining the legislative jargon, MCCL has materials that explain the legal changes—you can contact the MCCL office to get some—as well as an in-depth article that provides a point-by-point explanation.
