People champion reproductive rights at “Rally For Roevember” in Moorhead

MOORHEAD, Minn. (KVRR) – Candidates and the Executive Director of the Red River Women’s Clinic host a “Rally For Roevember” at Minnesota State University Moorhead.

People are applauding candidates’ platforms of letting women make their reproductive decisions and not politicians or the Supreme Court.

“Because, in Minnesota, abortion is a legally protected right, it is not on the ballot in November,” Republican candidate for Minnesota governor Dr. Scott Jensen said October 18.

“I would say it is because it is only a protected right by a court decision and we’ve seen what has happened at the Supreme Court level. And, obviously, if courts change here in Minnesota with different administrations, we could see that eroded in Minnesota,” DFL Minnesota Senate District 4 candidate Rob Kupec said.

“That standard of care across the nation has been broken apart by the Dobbs decision. And across the country people are trying to put that standard of care back together again and it is putting people in jeopardy including here in Minnesota,” Chair of the Senate DFL Campaign State Sen. Erin Murphy said.

It’s not only in Minnesota where people are fighting for reproductive rights.

“We’ve heard rumors of 12 to 15 anti-abortion, anti-IVF, anti-contraception, anti-travel out of state travel for abortion care and anti-trans hormone care for teenager bills being proposed for the 2023 North Dakota Legislative session,” Executive Director of the Red River Women’s Clinic Tammi Kromenaker said.

“A lot of conservatives, they do not want government intrusion into their lives, and, so, when they look at this issue, they go ‘Hey, this is government intrusion into my life,” Kupec said.

“We know the ability to control when, how many and if you will ever have children is fundamental to pregnant people’s ability to succeed in our society,” Kromenaker said.

In a MinnPost poll of nearly 1,600 Minnesotans released October 19, the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade and state governments banning abortion was the second most important issue for voters at 43 percent. The rising cost of inflation was number one.

KVRR reached out to Rob Kupec’s opponent, Republican Dan Bohmer, for an interview and haven’t heard back. We also looked for his stance on abortion on his website, but there’s no mention of the issue.