Lawmakers Consider Abortion Ban After 20 Weeks

ST. PAUL (AP) -- Minnesota is one of at least seven states considering banning abortions after 20 weeks of gestation.

The legislation was introduced in the House and Senate on Monday. The bill is modeled after a Nebraska law adopted last year, the first in the nation that bans abortions after 5 months.

New Republican majorities in some states are resurrecting the contentious abortion debate. If passed by the Legislature, the bill would likely be vetoed by DFL Gov. Mark Dayton, who supports abortion rights. DFLers who oppose abortion would have to join Republican majorities in the House and Senate in order to override a gubernatorial veto.

Fewer than 2 percent of the more than 12,000 abortions performed in Minnesota in 2009 involved fetuses older than 20 weeks.

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