Reproductive Rights

Perhaps the most contentious political issue in the Minnesota Capitol remains abortion. And despite a budget deficit topping the legislative agenda, proponents of a woman’s right to choose and opponents of legalized abortion will be putting forward initiatives and playing politics to advance their causes in the coming months.

A 12-year-old student in Hutchinson, Minn., is suing his school after officials asked him not to wear controversial anti-choice T-shirts. He has gotten legal help from the Thomas More Law Center, a group that bills itself as “Christianity’s answer to the ACLU.”

The Minnesota school is in the midst of a showdown between free speech advocates [...]

Minnpost’s Doug Grow this week introduced readers to Barb Davis White, the GOP-endorsed candidate for the 5th Congressional district.

Davis is running on the hopes that Minneapolitans find Rep. Keith Ellison of the DFL “too liberal.” Davis White might need to revisit the various voting blocs in the district.

Despite the district’s large number of immigrants, Davis [...]

Editor’s note: As we count down the final days of 2007, we look back at some of the most interesting or important stories Minnesota Monitor covered in the past year. Here’s the second in this ongoing series.
While 2007 was a year of big news in reproductive health, it wasn’t a year of much progress.

In [...]

The Values Voter Debate Monday night was bypassed by the four leading Republican contenders for president.  But the other seven who showed were staunch in their opposition to Planned Parenthood and abortion and strongly in favor of abstinence-based education.

“I want to be the president to appoint the justice that is the final vote we need [...]

A screening of “Sex Ed and the State,” a documentary about legislative attempts to mandate sex education in Minnesota, is slated for Sept. 20.

The film by Jim Winkle screened earlier this year. 

In a previous interview with Minnesota Monitor, Winkle said that he made the film  to “find out where [sex ed] fails in the legislative [...]

Jim Sedlak, the head of the anti-abortion group STOPP International, has called for his fellow anti-abortion advocates to  “to spend time spreading the pro-life message at [Planned Parenthood] express clinics” located in shopping malls, including three in Minnesota.  But the Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life expressed no interest in joining or coordinating any protests.

In a [...]

As the 2008 campaign season winds on, one of the more interesting subplots is the issue of reproductive health.  On the Republican side, one of the major candidates, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, supports abortion rights, a position that puts him at odds with the majority of his party.  And former Massachusetts Gov. [...]

A year after it was approved for over-the-counter sale, Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota says Plan B is something to celebrate.

“Every woman deserves every chance to prevent unintended pregnancy,” said Sarah Stoesz, president and CEO of the regional Planned Parenthood, in a statement.

The organization vowed to continue to push for increased [...]

My daughter lost her first tooth last night. She’s just shy of 5, and she handled it with at least the bravery level of a 7-year-old.  Already the kind of perspicacious daughter who is going to eventually convince me through logic and bravado that I actually want her to take my car on a Friday [...]