Minnesota House debating whether to put equal rights, abortion protections on the ballot in 2026
An amendment to enshrine equal rights and abortion protections into the Minnesota Constitution is up for debate in the state House on Friday, one of the last actions of the DFL-led Legislature in the session's final days.
The proposal would ask Minnesotans if the state's Constitution should be amended to guarantee equal rights regardless of "race, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, or sex, including pregnancy, gender, and sexual orientation."
The House vote was originally scheduled for Monday, but debate on other bills stretched on for hours, delaying the vote until Friday. Legislators have a May 20 deadline to adjourn.
Republicans, along with anti-abortion and religious groups, have tried to stop the amendment from going on the ballot, arguing it leaves off protections for people based on their religion while shrouding the intent to protect abortion rights under language about pregnancy.
"Republicans believe that equal rights are for all, but what we are seeing this bill does not provide rights for all," House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said as the debate got underway.
Nearly two dozen proposed changes to the amendment could be discussed during the debate, including adding religion as a protected class to the bill.
The amendment's fate is unclear in the state Senate, which passed a different version of the Equal Rights Amendment last year. Senate leaders have not said whether they have the votes to pass the House's version of the bill.
"I expect they could amend it, and until we know what is coming to us, we haven't committed our votes," DFL Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy said Friday. "But we've had very, very many discussions about the importance of what I think is a new and modern ERA, one that reflects our values, our freedoms and what it means to be a Minnesotan and live freely."
There's pressure on Democrats to act this year while they have full control of the Legislature. Constitutional amendments must past both chambers in order to get on the ballot, but they don't require the governor's signature.
The amendment could set off an expensive statewide campaign similar to abortion-related referendum battles in other states since the U.S. Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade.
Since the Supreme Court's 2022 decision, voters in six states have weighed in on constitutional amendments regarding abortion, with abortion rights groups prevailing in every state. This fall, more than a dozen states may have abortion-related measures on the ballot.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
