Legislation establishing protections for babies who survive attempted abortions is moving through the Minnesota House of Representatives following a party-line vote in the House Heath Finance and Policy Committee.
Last week, state legislators in the committee discussed and voted on HF 24, a bill which requires medical personnel to “preserve the life and health” of infants born alive during the course of an attempted abortion.
For many years, Minnesota had protections in law which explicitly required medical staff to provide lifesaving care to infants born during attempted abortions. In 2023, Democrats stripped those protections from state law, replacing the protections with a vague statute that only requires medical personnel to “care for the infant.”
Authored by Rep. Krista Knudsen, R-Lake Shore, HF 24 would restore the longstanding, comprehensive protections which require medical staff to provide lifesaving care.
“When, by the grace of God, a baby survives an abortion, that baby should have every right to medically necessary, life-saving care,” said Knudsen following the committee hearing for her bill.
During the committee hearing, supporters of the bill testified that HF 24 is a commonsense bill which provides clarity regarding the standard of care that must be given to babies who survive attempted abortions. Supporters of the bill also noted that most Minnesotans believe lifesaving care should be given to survivors of attempted abortions.
Cathy Blaeser, the co-executive director of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL), referenced a state abortion report that was published annually from 2015 to 2022 before being discontinued by Democrats. Citing the discontinued annual reports, Blaeser said that 24 infants survived attempted abortions between 2015 and 2022.
“In six of these eight years, three to five born-alive abortion survivors were reported each year,” said Blaeser.
Two private citizens, who survived abortions as infants, also testified in favor of HF 24. One of the two women told legislators that HF 24 would “save babies like me from infanticide.”
Sarah Zagorski, an abortion survivor, urges Minnesota lawmakers to restore protections to state law for infants who survive attempted abortions.
"[This bill] would save babies like me from infanticide. And that is exactly what we're talking about. A baby on the table left to… pic.twitter.com/j5oUGgpSmW
— Anthony Gockowski (@AntGockowski) February 18, 2025
Conversely, Dr. Erin Stevens, an OB-GYN and legislative chair of the Minnesota section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), testified against the bill on behalf of ACOG. Stevens told the committee that bills like HF 24 are “often well-intentioned but come from unfortunate misinformation.”
The physician said that supporters of HF 24 want people to believe that a situation exists frequently in which an abortion is botched and a healthy baby is left to die on the table “without anyone doing anything.”
“That does not happen,” said Stevens.
In short, opponents of HF 25 told the committee that the proposed legislation would force doctors to perform unnecessary medical interventions on infants who have already received a terminal diagnosis, thus preventing parents from being with their baby during that child’s only living moments on earth.
Critics of HF 24 also said that no medical professional would deny medical care to a baby and the language of current law was inclusive enough to provide protections.
Responding to some of the bill’s opponents, Knudsen said: “I feel bad for women that lose children. I have friends that have lost full-term babies. But again, this bill is relating to an elective abortion and ensuring that that baby has every protection necessary for life and health.”
Following questions and comments from DFL legislators, the committee voted 11-10 to advance HF 24 and place it on the General Register; all Republicans voted to advance the bill, all voting Democrats on the committee opposed this measure.
Since the bill was sent to the General Register of the Minnesota House of Representatives, Republicans can schedule HF 24 for a full vote on the House floor at any time.
Update: A previous version of this story stated that all Democrats on the committee voted against advancing HF 24. Instead, all voting Democrats on the committee voted against advancing HF 24. The committee has one non-voting DFL member in accordance with a power sharing agreement.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
