Friends and neighbors,

As I get ready to send this week’s newsletter, we are preparing for a floor debate on SF 1/HF 1, the so-called PRO Act. If passed, this legislation would be the most extreme abortion policy in the country and rival just seven nations’ pro-abortion laws, among them China and North Korea.

This proposal strikes me as overly broad. It states that reproductive health decisions are a “fundamental right.” We know the rights the Bill of Rights protects. And we know that those protections are held most inviolate by their status within the federal Constitution. 

We do not know, however, what a fundamental right is. Is it a greater right than those contained within the Bill of Rights? And you can argue that even the bill’s authors do not know what a fundamental right is. It is that limitation that requires the insertion of the phrase, “Reproductive health care includes, but is not limited to.”

What I do know for certain is that I cannot agree with the many horrific procedures contained within the phrase “not limited to.” This legislation would give a young child (e.g., an 11, 12, 13, year-old) the fundamental right to terminate a pregnancy, and choose to be sterilized, all without their parent(s) even being notified. This type of secrecy creates an environment in which criminal abusers can impregnate a child and then coerce them to hide this abuse.

As a father of many daughters, this proposal is heartbreaking. I can’t comprehend how anyone could choose to end an innocent life moments before their birth. And this is the same concern that I have heard in the hundreds of constituent emails I have received urging me to vote NO on the PRO Act. Even many pro-choice democrats that I have spoken with do not support this extreme bill.

Be assured, that when this bill moves to a vote, this will be my stance. I and all Senate Republicans are voting NO, and this legislation will not be an easy victory for the Democrat majority. We are committed to standing up for life and serving as the voice of mothers and the unborn.

Contact Me

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me. I want to hear your thoughts and your priorities for this legislative session! Feel free to email me at sen.gene.dornink@senate.mn or give me a call at 651-296-5240.

Sincerely,

Gene