Lakeville’s Holberg Authors Bill That Would Ban Abortions After 20 Weeks

State Rep. Mary Liz Holberg (R-District 36A), of Lakeville, introduced a House bill last week that would outlaw abortions after 20 weeks.

The bill, which Holberg is a chief author of, is modeled after a similar law adopted last year in Nebraska that bans abortions after five months.

A similar bill to Holberg's was also introduced in the Senate last week.

The bills make Minnesota one of seven states considering nearly identical 20-week bans.

The bill, HF0936, will get its first hearing in the Health and Human Services Reform committee this week.

The new law would be dubbed the “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act” and contains language that by 20 weeks, the fetus feels pain.

“It is the purpose of the state to assert a compelling state interest in protecting the lives of unborn children from the stage at which substantial medical evidence indicates that they are capable of feeling pain,” the bill states.

The bill does allow for medical exemptions in the event a doctor finds the mother will die, or suffer “substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function,” by going forward with the pregnancy. The bill makes no exception for women who are victims of rape or incest.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health, fewer than 2 percent of the 12,386 abortions performed in Minnesota in 2009 involved fetuses older than 20 weeks. Numbers aren't available for 2010.

Meanwhile, State Sen. Dave Thompson (R-District 36) of Lakeville, had a busy week, chief authoring seven Senate bills last week.

The most notable of the introduced bills is SF0750, which would change the state’s graduation requirements to include completion of “one-half credit of classes through post-secondary enrollment options, advanced placement, or international baccalaureate, or complete a successful work experience in a program approved by the student's school district or charter school.” The students would have to complete the requirement anytime between grades 9 and 12.

Thompson also introduced introduced in the house State Rep. Pat Garofalo (R-District 36B), of Farmington, that would appropriate more than $1.5 million through a bond sale to complete the Cannon Falls Lake Byllesby Dam spillway project.