Did Tim Walz allow abortion for any reason up to birth? Here’s what the law he signed says

CNA Staff, Oct 7, 2024 / 17:30 pm

Since Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris picked him as her running mate, vice presidential candidate Tim Walz has faced challenges from Republicans, pro-life advocates, and the media to defend his extreme positions on abortion. 

As governor of Minnesota, Walz has signed several far-reaching abortion laws that have significantly expanded abortion in that state, including legislation that enshrines abortion without restrictions up to the point of birth in the state constitution.

Nevertheless, Walz has skirted the issue and refused to say that he signed legislation that allows abortion through all nine months of pregnancy.

What has Walz said?

In the vice presidential debate with Sen. JD Vance this month, the moderator asked Walz to answer “yes or no” whether he supports abortion through the ninth month of pregnancy.

“Former President Trump said in the last debate that you believe abortion ‘in the ninth month is absolutely fine.’ Yes or no? Is that what you support?” Walz was asked.

Walz dodged the question, saying: “That’s not what the bill says.” 

“In Minnesota, what we did was restore Roe v. Wade,” he said. 

Minnesota law goes further than Roe, however. Before it was overturned, Roe v. Wade legalized abortion throughout the entire United States, until roughly the end of the second trimester.

And in a recent Fox News interview Walz was pressed further on the matter by anchor Shannon Bream, who noted that there is “no ban or limit on abortion in Minnesota based on how far along in a pregnancy you are.” 

Walz again appeared to dodge the question. 

“Look, the vice president and I have been clear. The restoration of Roe v. Wade is what we’re asking for,” he said. When Bream pointed out that Minnesota law goes well beyond Roe v. Wade, Walz said: “The law is very clear. It does not change that. That has been debunked on every occasion.”

What does Minnesota law say? 

Though Walz appears eager to avoid discussing the details of the law he signed, Minnesota law does in fact allow for abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, with no restrictions whatsoever, and that legislation to guarantee this “right” was signed by Walz himself. 

The state’s Protect Reproductive Options Act, signed by Walz in January 2023, establishes that, in Minnesota, “every individual who becomes pregnant has a fundamental right to continue the pregnancy and give birth, or obtain an abortion, and to make autonomous decisions about how to exercise this fundamental right.” The measure imposes no restrictions on abortion at any stage and enshrines that “right” in the state constitution.

Both pro-life and pro-abortion advocates agree that there are no restrictions on abortion in Minnesota. The group Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL) says on its website that the law signed by Walz imposes “no limitations [on abortion] at any stage in pregnancy,” 

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The website AbortionFinder, meanwhile, states that abortion “is legal throughout pregnancy in Minnesota” and that there is “no ban or limit on abortion in Minnesota based on how far along in pregnancy you are.”

MCCL co-executive director Cathy Blaeser told CNA on Monday that Minnesota is in a state of “abortion free-for-all.”

“We have a law that allows for abortion through all nine months of pregnancy with no protections for women or children at any gestational age,” she said. 

Asked if Minnesota’s law goes beyond Roe v. Wade as the Fox News host claimed, Blaeser said: “Yes.” 

“Initially, Roe v. Wade provided for a ‘trimester’ structure, even though in practice it allowed for abortion throughout nine months of pregnancy,” she said. “But it allowed states to put in protections with gestational age.” 

“But Minnesota currently would not allow for that,” she said, pointing out that women can obtain abortions in the state “for any reason and for no reason.”

Blaeser further pointed out that Minnesota law offers “no parameters to protect minor girls under the age of 18, and no protections for parents to be notified if their minor daughters get an abortion.” 

On its website, AbortionFinder also states that “parental involvement is not required in Minnesota” and that underage girls “can consent to an abortion and do not have to notify a parent to get an abortion in Minnesota.”

Asked about Walz’s appearing to dodge questions related to Minnesota’s abortion laws, Blaeser told CNA: “He’s actively lying. He’s not telling the truth about what the law does in this state.”

“He is trying to avoid answering those questions simply because he knows the American people do not support abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy,” she said.