Frey signs executive order to protect abortion access in Minneapolis

By KSTP

Mayor Jacob Frey signs an executive order to protect abortion access in Minneapolis. (Pool TV)

Wednesday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey signed an executive order seeking to protect those pursuing reproductive health care services, including abortion services, in the city.

The order is the first Frey has signed after voters approved the new “strong mayor” governmental structure last November, giving the mayor the ability to issue executive orders “to provide direction, clarity, or instruction within the City administration.”

Executive Order 2022-01 prohibits city of Minneapolis staff and departments “from working with, or providing information to, other states or jurisdictions that provide less freedom than Minnesota does and are pursuing legal action against individuals seeking reproductive healthcare or entities providing reproductive healthcare in Minneapolis.”

The order indicates the only exemption would be if there is “information required by statute, regulation, order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or lawfully issued judicial warrant of a court of competent jurisdiction.”

View the order below or here.

EO-2022-01-Reproductive-Rights-080322 Download

“We will do everything in our power to make sure Minneapolis is and will always be a safe haven for anyone seeking an abortion,” Frey said in a statement. “We continue to work with local jurisdictions, experts, and advocates to expand support for reproductive rights – and to see how best each of our resources can be used. Whether you’re a Minneapolis resident or someone traveling half the country over to get basic healthcare, you will be protected in our city.”

Minneapolis City Council President Andrea Jenkins also said, “Today, Minneapolis ensures that we will continue to be a safe haven for women and everyone with a uterus to have safe, compassionate access to reproductive healthcare. Reproductive rights, transgender/non-binary rights and women’s rights are human rights.”

Frey’s executive order follows Gov. Tim Walz’s recent signing of a state executive order to “help protect people seeking or providing abortions in Minnesota from legal repercussions in other states.”