Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton vetoed on Monday the second anti-abortion bill that was brought before him this month. The bill, passed in the legislature 76-47, would require a doctor to be present during a medication abortion. Under a current program in the state, patients are able to take the medication necessary to induce an abortion with a nurse in the room while a doctor video-conferences.
Governor Dayton said he vetoed the program because it provided an unnecessary regulatory burden. In his veto letter, the governor wrote, “While patient safety should always be our top priority and can be addressed through state-level policy making, a veto is warranted on legislation driven by a specific political ideology rather than a broad-based concern for protecting all patients.”
Last week, Governor Dayton vetoed the first of the two abortion bills passed by the legislature. Under that bill, any clinic that performs at least ten abortions a month would have to purchase a license for an annual fee of $3,712. Clinics would also be inspected semiannually by health inspectors. Governor Dayton said he vetoed that bill because “the legislation targets only facilities which provide abortions. If regulation of clinics were the concern, the bill should have required licensure of all clinics, not just a select few.”
Huffington Post 4/30/12; Star Tribune 4/30/12; Twin Cities- Pioneer Press 4/30/12; Feminist Daily News Wire 4/27/12
