The U.S. state of Minnesota passed a bill Tuesday to enshrine abortion as a right, making it a right after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the legal precedent that allowed abortion in the country until last summer.
After the Minnesota House and Senate passed the bill after hours of debate in both chambers, the state’s Democratic governor, Tim Walz, signed the bill into law, which enshrines the «fundamental right» of access to abortion, CNN reported.
«The message we are sending to Minnesota today is very clear. Your rights are protected in the state. You have the right to make your own decisions about your health, your family and your life,» Walz said during the signing ceremony for the abortion bill.
The rule establishes that the state government cannot restrict a person’s ability to exercise the right to reproductive freedom. It also clarifies that this right extends to access to contraception, sterilization, family planning, fertility and reproductive health counseling, according to the Minnesota Reformer.
The signing comes after the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24, 2022 eliminated the constitutional right to abortion in the country after overturning the Roe v. Wade ruling that recognized for the first time women’s right to unrestricted abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy, a legal precedent that had been in use in the country since 1973.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)