Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Washington Governor Jay Inslee, both Democrats, have recently signed laws to protect access to abortion and gender-affirming care for minors traveling from other states.
The laws prohibit the enforcement of other states’ restrictions on these procedures through Minnesota-run or Washington-run courts and judicial processes.
The two states join a growing number of liberal states enacting legal safeguards for abortion and transgender care following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, which has led to over a dozen states limiting both procedures in the past year.
“Freedom of choice is a health care issue. We are protecting access to health care,” Inslee stated during the bill signing.
Critics, including anti-abortion advocates and legislators, question the necessity of these laws, as abortion is already protected under state laws.
Washington Republican Rep. Jim Walsh decried the policies as “anti-family.”
“These policies are anti-family. They drive wedges between vulnerable children and their parents,” Walsh stated in a tweet.
“Pedophiles and pimps exploit bad policies like these to prey on children. The establishment Left ignores that ugly truth. And blames parents for the exploitation,” he said.
Gov. Walz’s legislation designates Minnesota as a “sanctuary” for abortion patients from other states and bans “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ+ youth.
“When someone else is given basic rights, others don’t lose theirs. We’re not cutting a pie here. We’re giving basic rights to every single Minnesotan,” Walz said.
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The Minnesota law, according to a press release from the state legislature, aims to make the state a “trans refuge” by prohibiting the enforcement of court orders that would remove children from their guardians for receiving gender-affirming care.
State law defines “gender-affirming” care as “medically necessary health care or mental health care that respects the gender identity of the patient, as experienced and defined by the patient.”
The Washington law targets states like neighboring Idaho, which made it illegal for an adult to help a minor obtain an abortion without parental consent. Starting next year, those who provide sex reassignment care for transgender youth in Idaho could face felony charges.
Minnesota’s new law is aimed at protecting abortion patients from neighboring states and even from as far as Texas, making Minnesota a sought-after destination for these services.
The chief House author of the transgender refuge bill is Minnesota’s first openly transgender legislator, Rep. Leigh Finke.
“All of us are living our daily lives, trying to simply find space to be who we are, to love who we love, to exist in our schools, to exist peacefully in our families, just find a space for us to be whole,” Finke said.
Republican Sen. Paul Utke opposed the abortion bill, arguing that Minnesota should not protect medical professionals who intentionally violate other states’ abortion laws.