Legal Protections for Abortion Providers and Patients Passes House Floor

March 23, 2023

A bill that offers legal protection to patients who travel to Minnesota for an abortion and for the healthcare providers who treat them, passed the Minnesota House of Representatives, 68-62, on March 20. 

The bill, HF366 (Agbaje, DFL – Minneapolis), known as the “Reproductive Freedom Defense Act (RFDA), would prevent state courts or officials from complying with extraditions, arrests or subpoenas related to care received in Minnesota and allow someone facing an abortion-related case against them in another state to countersue for associated costs, damages and attorney’s fees. There are currently seven other states that offer such protections against legal penalties in other states. 

The MMA shared a letter of support on the House floor the night of the vote. In its letter, the MMA stated that “healthcare decisions are deeply personal and must be made by the patient, based on what is best for that patient, with the input and advice of their healthcare professional. This is especially true for reproductive health.” 

The letter went on to argue that “Minnesota clinicians providing reproductive care, and patients receiving such care, must be protected from out-of-state legal repercussions associated with such services. The need for the protections offered in the RFDA are particularly important in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.”