Pregnant women support

More women would be able to choose to keep a baby, rather than have an abortion, under a bill she sponsors, said Rep. Mary Ellen Otremba (DFL-Long Prairie). HF2640 received an informational hearing by the House Health and Human Services Committee April 15.

Also known as the Minnesota Pregnant Women and Parent Support Act, the bill would:

• remove health plan policy waiting periods due to pregnancy;

• eliminate health carriers using pregnancy as a preexisting condition;

• establish a grant program in postsecondary institutions to provide counseling to students who are pregnant or have young children and would provide on campus child care services;

• require health care professionals providing prenatal care to women to provide information about the accuracy of alpha-fetoprotein testing;

• provide a $1,000 tax credit for adoption expenses; and

• appropriate money for the Women, Infants and Children program and grants for battered women’s shelters, child care and parent support programs.

“The bill looks to eliminate the stumbling blocks a woman with an unplanned pregnancy finds, should she choose to carry the child to term,” said Pat Mullins, executive director for Democrats for Life of Minnesota. Many times it comes down to an economical situation, and he said the bill would remove some of those barriers.

While supportive of the goals, Rep. Steve Gottwalt (R-St. Cloud) agreed that more services should be offered, but that communities need to take care of these situations and not rely entirely on state funding.

A companion bill, SF3734, sponsored by Sen. Gary Kubly (DFL-Granite Falls), awaits action by the Senate Health, Housing and Family Security Committee.