• Minnesota became one of the first states to enshrine abortion access into law after the overturning of Roe v. Wade when Walz signed the Protect Reproductive Options Act in January 2023. The bill included provisions to make existing protections harder for future courts to strike down and “prohibits local units of government from regulating a person’s ability to freely exercise their fundamental right to reproductive health care.” The Minnesota Supreme Court had already ruled in 1995 that abortion is a fundamental right protected by the state’s constitution. [The Associated Press, 1/31/23; MN.gov, 1/31/23; CNN, 1/31/23]
• The Protect Reproductive Options, or PRO, Act repealed requirements for those seeking abortion to endure a 24-hour waiting period, receive descriptions of the fetus, and be given “information on ‘fetal pain,’ as well as a list of agencies offering alternatives to abortion services.” According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, “a human fetus does not have the capacity to experience pain until after at least 24–25 weeks,” well beyond the first trimester (the first 13 weeks of gestation) during which the vast majority of abortions are performed. [The Office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, accessed 8/7/24; American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, accessed 8/7/24; Pew Research Center, 3/25/24]

In response to Walz's record on abortion, right-wing media figures falsely accused the vice presidential candidate of allowing “abortion until the moment of birth” or legalizing “coercive abortion” with the passage of the PRO Act. These misleading accusations misconstrue the facts of the reproductive care protections Walz enshrined in Minnesota law.

• The number of abortions that are performed after viability is “vanishingly small.” The Washington Post reported that “abortion ‘until the day of birth’ is almost never a thing.” In reality, “only about 1 percent occur after 21 weeks … and most of those … are before 24 weeks,” according to Katrina Kimport, a medical sociologist and expert on abortions that occur later in pregnancy. [The Washington Post, 11/15/23]
• The Guttmacher Institute explains that informed consent laws for abortion care “frequently disregard the basic principles of informed consent in favor of furthering a highly politicized antiabortion goal.” Guttmacher also notes these laws sometimes push medically inaccurate information to patients regarding the psychological impacts of abortion or purported links to cancer. [Guttmacher Institute, 8/30/23, accessed 8/8/24]
• According to reproductive rights advocates, reproductive coercion is much more likely to involve a victim being coerced into pregnancy by an abusive partner, rather than being coerced into an abortion. Reproductive coercion is a form of intimate partner violence that can include behaviors such as “explicit attempts to impregnate a partner against her will, control[ling] outcomes of a pregnancy, coerc[ing] a partner to have unprotected sex, and interfer[ing] with contraceptive methods.” [American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, accessed 8/7/24; Mother Jones, 3/20/24; Twitter/X, 8/6/24]

• An article published by National Review alleged that two bills signed into law in 2023 by Walz made “coercive abortion” legal in Minnesota by stripping the “informed consent” law and allowing “unqualified right to abortion.” The article, titled “Tim Walz Made It Legal to Coerce Women into Abortions,” claimed that the bills “stripped out of the state’s laws the requirement that women give informed consent — indeed, any consent — to an abortion.” [National Review, 8/6/24]
• A Washington Examiner article claimed that Walz's legislative actions in Minnesota to expand abortion access allow for “abortion at any stage” of gestation. The article quoted National Right to Life President Carol Tobias, who stated that “Tim Walz has made his support of unlimited abortion a foundation of his administration.” [Washington Examiner, 8/6/24]
• The Daily Signal claimed that Walz displayed his “radical abortion stance” when he signed the PRO Act. An article published by Fox News amplified The Daily Signal's claims, writing that Walz had signed into law “unlimited access to abortion.” [The Daily Signal, 8/5/24; Fox News, 8/6/24]
• An article by LifeNews.com said Walz had signed a bill that allows for “killing babies in abortions up to birth.” The piece also included a quote from Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life Co-Executive Director Cathy Blaeser in which she called Walz's legislative support of reproductive health access “extreme, inhumane, and harmful.” [LifeNews.com, 8/6/24]
• Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins posted that Walz had signed a bill allowing “abortion to take place UP UNTIL THE MOMENT OF BIRTH, for any reason whatsoever.” She also wrote, “Harris-Walz is the most pro-abortion, baby killing, ticket we’ve ever seen in America.” [Twitter/X, 8/6/24]
• A Brietbart article called Walz “the radical-left governor” for his support for abortion rights. The piece quoted Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser saying, “Democrats have made it clear nothing — not the checks and balances built into our government, not the humanity of unborn children and not the true needs of women — will stop them from imposing all-trimester abortion nationwide.” [Breitbart, 8/6/24]
• On Newsmax, American Conservative Union Chair Matt Schlapp claimed that Minnesota “is a state where the governor doesn't want any regulation on abortion at any time, for any reason” while calling Walz “the most woke, left-wing candidate” Harris could have picked for vice president. [Newsmax, National Report, 8/6/24]
• Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk claimed that Minnesota has the “most radical abortion laws in the country.” [Twitter/X, 8/6/24]
• Fox host Kayleigh McEnany claimed that Walz enshrined “abortion until birth,” and referred to him as ”a progressive in sheep's clothing" for policies that are supposedly “far to the left of America.” [Media Matters, 8/6/24]
• Far-right conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich claimed that Walz “supports abortion up to the time the full grown baby begins delivery.” Cernovich also claimed that “this position is so extreme that Jen Saki and others had to claim no one supports it.” [Twitter/X, 8/6/24]
• An article published by Live Action claimed that Walz signed “the most extreme” abortion bill in the nation, “which legalized abortion up to birth with no restrictions.” [Live Action, 8/6/24]
• Students for Life Action characterized Walz as “a rabidly left-wing political radical that is doing what his pro-abortion donors and voters want.” [Students for Life Action, 8/8/24]
• Another article published by National Review claimed that Walz's signing of the PRO Act is “one of the most radical in the union.” The piece asserted that “Harris doubled down on her abortion extremism by making the Minnesota governor her running mate.” [National Review, 8/12/24]
• A “fact sheet” memo sent to the GOP leadership from anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America claimed that both Harris and Walz “promote abortion coercion” and “support NO limits on abortion.” [Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, 8/8/24]