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Minnesota
2007 State Policy
Issues
End of Session Update
 Overall,
the 2007 Legislative Session was extremely generous
to the pro-choice community. The majority of policy
initiatives passed and were signed into law, funding
for family planning was restored to levels not seen
for nearly 10 years, and abortion-related legislation
did not hold up any health care bills as in years past.
The successes include :
Pro-Choice Leadership
There is a sweeping new landscape from the 2006 elections:
15 new Senators and 25 new House members.
The Minnesota Senate has a solid pro-choice majority
(36
out of 67)
The Minnesota House has a near pro-choice majority
(63
solid, 8 mixed,out of 134)
For the first time in 14 years, there is solid
pro-choice leadership in both the
House and the Senate
Restore Family Planning Special Projects
Grants
The major policy legislation for the pro-choice community
was to reinstate funding for the much needed family
planning community.
A statute passed in Fiscal Year 2005 that would
have cut 50% cut of the base
FPSP funding was overturned bringing base funding levels
to
$7 million (in General Fund dollars)
In addition to the base, an increase of $2.13
million was added
(from
TANF dollars)
Total FPSP funding just under $10 million
Medicaid Rate Reimbursement Increase
The reimbursement rate was granted an increase of 25%
to family planning clinics for Medicaid paid services.
$1.1 million in state funding will leverage $9.9
million in federal dollars.
Also included is a Department of Human Services
study required to be submitted
to the legislature in January of 2008 that will examine
current reimbursement rates to bring the cost of providing
services in line with other reimbursement models.
Additional Policy Changes to Aid Clinics
Registered Nurses will now be allowed to dispense
prescribed
contraceptives
under the guidance of a medical director.
Family Planning clinics will be able to obtain
lower cost contraceptives and
other pharmaceutical products through being included
in a state purchasing
pool.
Emergency Contraception Available in Emergency
Rooms
All hospitals will now be required to offer emergency
contraception to victims
of sexual assault. This is a tremendous victory after
6 years of the
pro-choice community introducing and advocating for
this legislation.
Anti-Choice Legislation Defeated
The so-called “Taxpayer Protection Act”
is a direct attack on the
Minnesota
State Supreme Court ruling in Doe vs. Gomez that grants
the right
to privacy, including reproductive health.
In 1995, the Women of Minnesota (a.k.a. Doe) v.
Gomez ruling
allowed that if Minnesota state subsidized health insurance
provides for pregnancy-related services, the state could
not discriminate which services a woman could choose.
This ruling also provides greater protection of women’s
reproductive privacy.
By seeking to pass legislation that directly contradicts
that ruling, the MCCL tries to propel a court case to
overturn this Supreme Court decision. The MCCL has openly
identified which justices they will target for defeat
in upcoming elections.
Additional amendments offered by anti-choice legislators
included:
Repealing the Minors’ Consent laws that
allow persons under 18 to
seek
confidential sexual and mental health care services.
Requiring physicians who perform abortions to
have admitting
privileges
at a hospital within 10 miles of the clinic where the
procedure isperformed. This is an attempt to intimidate
doctors as
a refusal of admitting privileges would be a black mark
on a
physicians record.
The only major initiative to be defeated this
year :
Comprehensive Sexuality Education Removed
by Governor
Education
programs that would emphasize abstinence but also include
comprehensive, age-appropriate and medically accurate
material for students was removed from the final omnibus
education bill because of a veto threat from the Governor.
Minnesota State Policy Issues Archive :
200720062005
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