(WOMENSENEWS)–Women who have decided to have an abortion in Minnesota must now go through a series of hurdles put in place by a new law called the Women’s Right to Know Act.
The law, which took affect July 1, requires women who have begun the process of terminating a pregnancy to first hear from a doctor about risks from the procedure and of childbirth, then wait at least 24 hours before the abortion. They must also be informed of state assistance that is available should they decide against an abortion, reported the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Backers of the law told the newspaper that the new law standardizes the information women receive before they make a potentially life-changing decision. Opponents say it could drive up the cost of abortion and interferes with the doctor-patient relationship.
Opponents of abortion lobbied for nearly a decade in elections and the state legislature for the law’s passage.
The newspaper quoted Scott Fischbach, executive director of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, the state’s largest anti-choice organization, as saying about the law: “We worked for 10 years to empower women.”
