The chief authors of a bill that would add licensing and inspection requirements to abortion clinics have sent a letter to Gov. Mark Dayton, urging him to sign the measure.
The House and Senate have both passed the legislation, with votes from both parties. But Dayton, a strong pro-choice advocate, may side with opponents of the bill, who say the state already licenses physicians and nurses and that the bill may be a trap to limit abortions performed in the future.
The bill's authors, state Sen. Claire Robling and state Rep. Liz Holberg, both Republicans, told the governor:
"The bill, which we authored, does not seek to limit access to abortion, but rather it seeks to ensure that the same health and safety measures required of outpatient surgical centers are followed at abortion clinics ...
"While some argue that licensing physicians who perform abortions is adequate, we believe that abortion is an invasive, surgical procedure that can lead to numerous and serious medical complications and clinics that perform them should fall under the same Minnesota Department of Health rules as outpatient surgical centers ...
"Because of concerns raised about possible harassment, we limited inspections to no more than two times per year, and the Department of Health can decide what constitutes a 'routine and comprehensive inspection.' Typically, the outpatient surgical centers are routinely inspected once every two years, and the department could follow the same practice with the abortion clinics."