Minnesota’s Legal Protections for Abortion
Tim Walz Signs PRO Act (Wiki Commons)
Minnesota has emerged as a stronghold for reproductive rights at a time when federal protections have been rolled back, and present an active threat. In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision overturned Roe v. Wade, ending nearly 50 years of federal abortion rights. Many neighboring states moved quickly to ban or restrict abortion, but Minnesota took a very different path. State leaders and courts have established robust legal protections – in law and in the Minnesota Constitution – that safeguard abortion access and broader reproductive healthcare. Below, we explain Minnesota’s current protections, including two landmark laws passed in 2023, a critical executive order, and a key court decision, and how they ensure continued access to care despite changes at the federal level.
Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act (2023)
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed the PRO Act into law on January 31, 2023, surrounded by supportive legislators and advocates. The Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act enshrines the full spectrum of reproductive rights into Minnesota state law. Signed in January 2023, this law declares that “every individual who becomes pregnant has a fundamental right to continue the pregnancy and give birth, or obtain an abortion,” effectively codifying the right to abortion in Minnesota statutes (Bierschbach, 2023; Wurzer & Elder, 2023). The PRO Act also explicitly guarantees the right to contraception, fertility treatment, sterilization, and family planning counseling – ensuring Minnesotans can make personal decisions about all aspects of reproductive health without government interference.
Notably, the PRO Act bars local governments from enacting their restrictions on reproductive healthcare. No city or county in Minnesota can override state law to limit abortion access. This provision prevents the kind of patchwork of local abortion bans seen in some states. Practically speaking, the PRO Act did not change day-to-day access (abortion was already legal in Minnesota due to court rulings). Still, it has a significant impact on the future. By writing these rights into state law, Minnesota lawmakers made it much harder for any future legislature or court to roll back reproductive freedom (MPR News Staff, 2023). Minnesota became the 16th state – and the first state after the fall of Roe – to guarantee the right to abortion in its laws. In the wake of Roe’s reversal, this was a clear message, as stated by Governor Walz: “Your rights are protected in this state.”
Reproductive Freedom Defense Act (2023)
While the PRO Act secures rights within Minnesota, the Reproductive Freedom Defense Act (RFDA) was passed in 2023 to protect patients and providers from legal attacks outside Minnesota’s borders. As other states outlawed abortion and even sought to punish those who assisted abortions, Minnesota responded with this “safe haven” law (Minnesota House of Representatives, 2023). The RFDA ensures that Minnesota will not assist or allow prosecution of anyone for abortion-related activities that are legal in Minnesota, even if those activities are illegal elsewhere. Key provisions include:
Shielding Providers: Minnesota health professionals – doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and others – cannot be disciplined or stripped of their licenses for providing reproductive health services that are legal in Minnesota, even if a patient is from a state where such care is banned. For example, a doctor who performs an abortion in Minnesota for a patient from another state faces no threat to their Minnesota medical license or credentials.
Protecting Patients: Minnesota authorities and courts will refuse to honor out-of-state subpoenas, warrants, or judgments seeking to penalize someone for obtaining or providing an abortion in Minnesota. The law explicitly prohibits enforcing another state’s civil or criminal laws against people for acts related to contraception, pregnancy, or abortion that occurred in Minnesota and are lawful here.
Legal Countermeasures: If an individual or provider is sued in another state for lawfully obtaining or providing an abortion in Minnesota, the RFDA gives them the right to countersue for damages, court costs, and attorney fees in Minnesota courts. This creates a strong disincentive for out-of-state actors to bring malicious lawsuits. Likewise, Minnesota state agencies cannot share medical records or assist in any investigation that could lead to another state prosecuting a patient or provider who was in Minnesota.
By enacting these measures, Minnesota has effectively made itself a legal refuge for reproductive healthcare. Doctors can provide abortions or gender-affirming care (covered under a related “trans refuge” provision) without fearing extradition or lawsuits from anti-abortion states. Patients who travel to Minnesota for care can do so knowing the state government and courts will shield them from prosecution. In short, the Reproductive Freedom Defense Act ensures that laws like Texas’s SB8 or other states’ abortion bans stop at Minnesota’s border – they have no power to reach into Minnesota to punish women or providers here.
Executive Order 22-16 (2022)
Even before the 2023 laws were passed, Minnesota’s Governor took swift action right after Dobbs. On June 25, 2022 (the day after Roe v. Wade was overturned), Governor Tim Walz issued Executive Order 22-16 to protect access to reproductive health services in Minnesota. This executive order, effective immediately, set the tone for Minnesota’s post-Roe response. It directed that Minnesota would not participate in other states’ attempts to enforce abortion bans. In particular, the order states the Governor will decline any request to extradite people – especially non-residents – who are accused of violating another state’s abortion laws if their actions took place in Minnesota – where they’re legal (Laube, 2022). For example, if someone from a neighboring state obtains an abortion in Minnesota, and their home state somehow charges them or their doctor, Minnesota will refuse to hand them over.
Executive Order 22-16 also instructs all Minnesota state agencies not to cooperate with out-of-state investigations or prosecutions of individuals for obtaining, providing, or assisting with abortions in Minnesota. No Minnesota agency or department may lend resources or information to help another state enforce an abortion ban against a Minnesota patient or provider. Governor Walz described the policy as using “the fullest extent” of his authority to protect those seeking or providing reproductive care. The only exception would be if the conduct in question is also illegal under Minnesota law – which, given Minnesota’s laws, means virtually all voluntary abortion care remains protected (MPR News Staff, 2022). This executive order was a crucial stop-gap measure ensuring that right after Roe fell, Minnesota immediately offered legal safe harbor to people seeking abortions, especially folks coming from newly restrictive states. It laid the groundwork later reinforced and expanded by the Reproductive Freedom Defense Act in 2023.
Doe v. Gomez (1995)
Long before these recent actions, Minnesota had a powerful safeguard for abortion rights in the form of a state Supreme Court decision. In Doe v. Gomez (1995), the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that the right to privacy under the Minnesota Constitution “encompasses a woman’s fundamental right to terminate her pregnancy.”Chaffee & Villers, 1996). In other words, the state constitution – independent of federal law – protects the right to choose abortion as a fundamental right in Minnesota. This landmark ruling went even further than Roe v. Wade did federally. The court struck down several Minnesota laws that restricted public funding for abortion, finding those laws unconstitutional. Before Doe v. Gomez, state programs like Medical Assistance (Minnesota’s Medicaid) would only cover abortion in cases of rape, incest, or medical necessity. The plaintiffs (including low-income women and healthcare providers) argued this violated equal protection and privacy rights. The Supreme Court agreed that the government cannot financially favor one pregnancy outcome over another. If the state covers healthcare for carrying a pregnancy to term, it must also cover abortion care.
As a result, since 1995, Minnesota has allowed state-funded insurance to cover abortion services, ensuring low-income women have meaningful access to abortion and not just a theoretical right. Doe v. Gomez firmly established a state constitutional right to abortion in Minnesota, broader than what the U.S. Constitution provided (Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, n.d.). This precedent still stands today. Even after the U.S. Supreme Court erased federal abortion rights in Dobbs, the Minnesota Attorney General affirmed that Doe v. Gomez means “Minnesotans’ rights continue to be protected” under the state constitution. Doe v. Gomez has been the legal bedrock keeping abortion accessible in Minnesota for decades, and it remains a bulwark against any attempt to restrict abortion through state law severely. Any future effort to ban abortion in Minnesota would have to contend with this state Supreme Court decision guaranteeing reproductive freedom as a fundamental right.
Ensuring Access Despite Federal Changes
Taken together, these laws and court rulings ensure that Minnesotans continue to have access to abortion and other reproductive healthcare despite shifts at the federal level and in different states. When Roe v. Wade fell, abortion remained legal in Minnesota because of Doe v. Gomez. With the PRO Act, that right is also explicitly written into state statute, reinforcing the constitutional protection. Even if federal policies change or a national ban is threatened, Minnesota law affirms that reproductive decisions belong to the individual—unless a federal law explicitly overrides state protections.
Minnesota’s proactive measures, including Executive Order 22-16 and the Reproductive Freedom Defense Act, have solidified the state as an island of access for reproductive healthcare. As neighboring states like Wisconsin and South Dakota implement abortion bans or severe restrictions, more patients are traveling to Minnesota to seek care. Thanks to these legal protections, individuals accessing abortion services in Minnesota, as well as the providers who care for them, are shielded from out-of-state prosecution. Minnesota lawmakers have reaffirmed the state’s role as a ‘North Star’ for reproductive freedom amid increasing restrictions nationwide.
This influx of patients is reflected in the state’s most recent abortion data. According to the Minnesota Department of Health’s 2023 Induced Abortion Report, a total of 14,124 abortions were performed in Minnesota, marking a 16% increase from the previous year. The rise was driven largely by out-of-state patients, whose numbers increased by nearly 50%. Many individuals traveled from states such as Iowa, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Texas, where restrictive abortion laws have significantly reduced access (Minnesota Department of Health, 2025).
Health officials and reproductive rights advocates emphasize that Minnesota’s legal safeguards—including the PRO Act and the Reproductive Freedom Defense Act—are critical in ensuring continued abortion access. These laws not only protect providers and patients within the state but also reinforce reproductive healthcare as an essential right. Despite the federal rollback of abortion rights, Minnesota remains steadfast in its commitment to bodily autonomy, ensuring that the decision of whether or when to have a child remains solely in the hands of individuals.
Call to Action: Minnesota’s leadership in protecting abortion and reproductive justice did not happen by accident – it happened because people organized, advocated, and demanded action. Keeping these hard-won protections in place and building upon them requires ongoing vigilance. You can help maintain Minnesota as a beacon for reproductive freedom. Please consider donating to Pro-Choice Minnesota to support our ongoing work defending reproductive rights. Your support fuels public education, advocacy for pro-choice policies, and efforts to elect leaders who will uphold reproductive freedom. With your help, we can ensure that Minnesota remains a safe and accessible place for all who need reproductive health care. Every contribution makes a difference in the fight to protect our rights – donate today to stand with us for choice and justice.
References
Bierschbach, B. (2023, January 31). Gov. Tim Walz signs law strengthening abortion rights in Minnesota. Star Tribune. Retrieved from https://www.startribune.com/gov-tim-walz-to-sign-law-to-strengthen-abortion-rights-in-minnesota/600247932
Chaffee, M. K., & Villers, L. O. (1996, January). Gomez: The Minnesota Supreme Court abortion funding decision. Minnesota Legislative Analysts Office. Retrieved from https://www.leg.mn.gov/docs/pre2003/other/960049.pdf
Laube, M. (2022, June 25). Gov. Walz signs executive order to protect abortion care for Minn., surrounding states. KSTP News. Retrieved from https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/gov-walz-signs-executive-order-to-protect-abortion-care-for-minn-surrounding-states/
Minnesota Attorney General’s Office. (n.d.). Know your rights to abortion and reproductive healthcare in Minnesota. Retrieved from https://www.ag.state.mn.us/abortionrights/
Minnesota Department of Health. (2025, February 20). Induced abortion in Minnesota, 2023 annual report. Retrieved from https://www.health.state.mn.us/data/mchs/pubs/abrpt/index.html
Minnesota House of Representatives. (2023). New law establishes Minnesota as a safe haven for reproductive health care. Retrieved from https://www.house.mn.gov/NewLaws/story/2023/5526
MPR News Staff. (2022, June 25). Walz issues executive order on reproductive health following Supreme Court ruling. MPR News. Retrieved from https://www.mprnews.org/story/2022/06/25/walz-issues-executive-order-on-reproductive-health-following-supreme-court-ruling
MPR News Staff, Cox, P., & Zurek, E. (2024, December 31). Out-of-state patients seeking Minnesota abortion care drove increase in 2023. MPR News. Retrieved from https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/12/31/out-of-state-patients-seeking-minnesota-abortion-care-drove-increase-in-2023
Wurzer, C., & Elder, A. (2023, January 31). Walz signs PRO Act, enshrining right to abortion into Minnesota law. MPR News. Retrieved from https://www.mprnews.org/episode/2023/01/31/walz-signs-pro-act-enshrining-right-to-abortion-into-minnesota-law