On Monday, Ramsey County District Judge Thomas Gilligan struck down a number of pro-life laws, including Minnesota's Woman's Right to Know Act, Minnesota's informed consent law, and also Minnesota's parental notification law.
Paul Stark, communications director for Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL), calls the policies "modest" and "reasonable."
"They've made a significant difference in terms of empowering and supporting women and helping them choose life and reducing a number of abortions in Minnesota," Stark reports. "Yet this judge struck these laws down and wiped them away."
Meanwhile, pro-abortion groups are celebrating.
"[The decision] underscores that Minnesota has the need to serve as a leader in providing abortion care to millions that will need it across the country, especially those in our region," responded Erin Maye Quade, advocacy director for Gender Justice.
Removing those "onerous barriers" will lead to even more people coming to Minnesota for abortion care, she added.
Stark sees the ruling differently.
"We think that decision must be appealed because it was an egregiously wrong decision," he asserts. "We're not even talking about a ban on abortion or anything like that; we're talking about informed consent before abortion."
Gilligan ruled that the state's abortion restrictions were unconstitutional under a landmark 1995 Minnesota Supreme Court ruling known as Doe v. Gomez, which held that the state constitution protects abortion rights. The judge called that case "significant and historic" and said it is unaffected by the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
Stark, however, says wiping all of the "common-sense" measures away is "extreme."
