Protect Women’s Rights, Religious Freedom, and the Unborn!

Protect Women’s Rights, Religious Freedom, and the Unborn! 

Urge Your Legislator to oppose the Erosion of Rights Amendment 

S.F. 37 is a proposed state constitutional amendment that would diminish the hard-earned rights and protections of women and could eliminate the conscience rights and religious liberty of all Minnesotans. The amendment prioritizes the rights of those based on their “gender identity or expression.”  

In the first days of the new legislative session, legislators plan to add new language to the amendment that will enshrine the right to abortion. 

 The new language will read: 

 “All persons shall be guaranteed equal rights under the laws of this state. The state shall not discriminate against any person in intent or effect on account of race, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, or sex, including but not limited to pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes and reproductive freedom, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation.” 

The proposed constitutional amendment does not appear to solve any problem. Rather, it creates problems at the expense of women and those with closely held religious beliefs. The failure to include "religion" in the new language means that Minnesotans may not be protected from religious discrimination.   

Potential outcomes of this erosion of rights include: 

• Expansive abortion access with little room for sensible safeguards 
• Potentially increased legal action against faith communities and schools that reject gender ideology and abortion, including the loss of state funding 
• The forced compliance of medical professionals when it comes to abortion and gender surgery 
• More taxpayer-funded “gender-affirming care” 
• The decline of women’s sports  
• Mandated pronoun usage that attacks freedom of speech 
• The shutdown of faith-based shelters for women 
• More harmful curriculum mandates in schools 

Church Teaching:  

“The right to the exercise of freedom, especially in moral and religious matters, is an inalienable requirement of the dignity of the human person. This right must be recognized and protected by civil authority within the limits of the common good and public order. (CCC 1738)” 

Catholic social teaching tells us to uphold the inherent dignity of every human person, recognizing that individuals have the right to seek and embrace religious truth according to their conscience. This includes the freedom to practice, profess, and share one's religious beliefs. 

Catholic social teaching strongly supports the protection of religious freedom as a fundamental human right essential for human dignity, the common good, and a just society. Forcing compliance with something against the teachings of our faith does not allow Catholics the right to exercise our freedoms.