Gay Marriage

Minnesotans Evenly Split Over Vote To Constitutionally Ban Same Sex Marriage

Jon Terbush | June 2, 2011, 12:22PM

Demonstrators both for and against a constitutional ban on same sex marriage inside the Minnesota State Capitol

As California's constitutional ban on same sex marriage winds its way through the courts, a showdown over a similar marriage-defining referendum is brewing in Minnesota. And according to a PPP poll released this week, that battle could be hotly contested, as it found voters there are evenly split on the issue.

In the poll, 46% of registered voters said the state should amend its Constitution to stipulate that marriage can only be between a man and a woman, while 47% said they opposed such an amendment.

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Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood Sues South Dakota Over Restrictive Abortion Law

Jon Terbush | May 31, 2011, 10:46AM

Planned Parenthood sued the state of South Dakota last Friday over a new law that requires women to receive counseling at a "pregnancy help center" before they can have an abortion, and imposes a 72-hour waiting period between that counseling and when a doctor can perform the procedure.

In a press release, Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota said that the new law toughens what were already the most stringent abortion laws in the nation and infringes on both patients' and doctors' First Amendment rights against "compelled speech."

"This law goes farther than any other in the country in intruding on the doctor-patient relationship, and putting women and families at risk," Sarah Stoesz, president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota was quoted as saying in the press release.

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