State Also Passes Unborn Child Pain Prevention Act

Abortion Numbers Drop in Minnesota to Lowest in Nearly 30 Years

By Dave Andrusko

        A report issued by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) documents that the number of abortions reported for 2004 was the lowest in Minnesota in almost 30 years. The July 12 report showed that in 2004 there were 13,788 abortions, compared to 14,174 in 2003—a 3% decrease. This was the first year since 1975 that there were fewer than 14,000 abortions.

        The MDH report came less than two months after Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed The Positive Alternatives Act into law. The act commits $2.5 million per year to fund programs that already provide assistance and referrals for nutrition services, medical attention, education assistance, parent training, and other services to pregnant women.

        Grants will be awarded early next year to pregnancy care centers, adoption agencies, and maternity homes. No eligible organization may provide, promote, or refer for abortion.

        “More women are deciding to give life to their unborn babies in our state and this is a positive trend,” said Scott Fischbach, executive director of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL). “With the recent passage of The Positive Alternatives Act, we hope this trend will accelerate.”

        Significantly, 2004 is the first full year the “Woman’s Right to Know” law was in place. The law requires abortion clinics to inform women of abortion risks, complications, and alternatives. The measure also provides women with facts on fetal development throughout gestation, the facts of fetal pain, and other vital information.

        The law has teeth—abortion clinics must report that each woman was provided the information—in order to ensure that every woman inquiring about abortion can make an informed decision. Has it made a difference?

        According to MCCL, a total of 15,859 pregnant women sought out information about abortion services in 2004. However, only 13,788 decided to undergo the procedure. This means that 2,071 women decided to give birth to their unborn babies after learning the facts about abortion.

        “One of our great hopes in passing Woman’s Right to Know was that more pregnant women would make an informed decision not to abort their babies, and this is clearly happening,” Fischbach observed.

        On top of that, 718 minors had abortions in 2004, the lowest figure since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision was handed down. MCCL points out that in 1980—prior to passage of the state’s parental notice law—2,327 minors had abortions.

        Unfortunately, there was an 8% increase in the number of women suffering medical complications from abortions—from 133 women in 2003, up to 145 women in 2004.

        In addition to learning of a decrease in the number of abortions, MCCL was able to pass one of its highest priority items for this legislative session: the Unborn Child Pain Prevention Act, as part of the Health and Human Services omnibus bill. Gov. Pawlenty signed the measure into law July 14.

        “There is strong agreement among elected officials that no unborn baby should be forced to endure the excruciating pain of dismemberment or any other method of abortion,” Fischbach said.

        The Unborn Child Pain Prevention Act would require that abortionists and referring physicians inform women that pain-reducing medication is available for their unborn baby. Pregnant women would sign a form to either request or refuse the administration of pain-reducing drugs to their unborn child prior to an abortion.

        The ability of an unborn child to experience pain has been well established by scientific research. The most conservative estimates are that by 20 weeks’ gestation all of the systems are in place for an unborn child to feel pain.

        “The neural pathways are present for pain to be experienced quite early by unborn babies,” explained Steven Calvin, M.D., a perinatologist specializing in maternal/fetal medicine and co-chair of the program in Human Rights and Medicine at the University of Minnesota.

   Congress is currently considering the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act. To help pass UCPAA, please go to

http://www.capwiz.com/nrlc/issues/bills/?bill=6952121.