Issued pursuant to City Charter, Section 7.1
I, Jacob Frey, Mayor of the City of Minneapolis, subject to the executive and administrative authority granted to me pursuant to Minneapolis City Charter, do hereby issue the following Executive Order:
Minneapolis as a Safe Haven for Reproductive Rights
WHEREAS, the State of Minnesota, through its State Constitution and court decisions interpreting the Constitution, provides a guarantee of the fundamental rights of individuals to make autonomous decisions about one's own reproductive health independent of, and more expansive than, any protection provided by the Constitution of the United States, and the City of Minneapolis has long encouraged that access to reproductive health care remains readily available in the City; and
WHEREAS, other States and jurisdictions may adopt or may expand laws that purport to impose civil or criminal liability or professional sanctions on health care professionals who provide and persons who seek and receive, or assist with the provision or receipt of, reproductive healthcare in the City of Minneapolis as permitted by the laws of the State of Minnesota; and
WHEREAS, health care professionals lawfully providing and persons lawfully seeking and receiving, or assisting with the provision or receipt of, reproductive health care in the City of Minneapolis should be protected from attempts to impose legal liability premised on and professional sanctions issued under the laws of other Slates when that reproductive health care is lawful in the State of Minnesota and meets standards for good professional practice; and
WHEREAS, it is necessary and appropriate to exercise the executive authority vested in my office, including the authority to supervise the conduct of all officers of the City, to protect health care professionals and persons lawfully seeking and receiving reproductive health care in the City of Minneapolis;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Jacob Frey, Mayor of the City of Minneapolis, do hereby order the following:
1. Except as required by statute, regulation, order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or lawfully issued judicial warrant of a court of competent jurisdiction, no Agent or Department may respond to any inquiry or request for information related to, or in furtherance of, any investigation or proceeding initiated in or by another State or jurisdiction that is empowered to impose civil or criminal liability or professional sanctions upon a person or entity for:
(a) the provision or receipt of, or any inquiry concerning, reproductive health care that is legal in the State of Minnesota; or
(b) any assistance given to any person or entity that relates to the provision or receipt of, or any inquiry concerning, reproductive health care that is legal in the State of Minnesota.
2. Except as required by statute, regulation, order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or lawfully issued judicial warrant of a court of competent jurisdiction, an Agent or Department shall decline any request received from an authority representing or located in any other State or jurisdiction to stop, arrest, detain, continue to detain, or transfer into out-of-State custody any person charged with a criminal violation of a law of that other State or jurisdiction where the violation alleged involves the provision or receipt of, or assistance with the provision or receipt of, reproductive health care unless the acts forming the basis of the prosecution of the crime charged would also constitute a criminal offense under the laws of the State of Minnesota.
3. For purposes of this Executive Order, the following definitions shall apply:
“Department” means every City of Minneapolis department, including, but not limited to the Minneapolis Police Department and the Minneapolis Department of Health, agency, division, commission, committee, board, or other body or person established by authority of a City of Minneapolis ordinance or resolution, City Council order, or executive order.
“Agent” means any person employed by or acting on behalf of a Department.
“Reproductive health care” means health care offered, arranged, or furnished for the purpose of preventing pregnancy, terminating a pregnancy, managing pregnancy loss, or improving maternal health and birth outcomes. Reproductive health care includes but is not limited to contraception, sterilization, preconception care, maternity care, abortion care, and counseling regarding reproductive health care.
August 3, 2022