Minnesota Abortion Laws 2027: What You Need to Know

Abortion is legal in Minnesota with no gestational limit in state law, no waiting period, no state-scripted counseling, and no enforceable parental-notice rule for minors. Two things hold that up: the Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act, Minn. Stat. § 145.409, and the Minnesota Supreme Court’s 1995 decision in Doe v. Gomez, which found a right to abortion in the state constitution.

Private health plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025 must cover abortion, Medical Assistance pays for it for eligible residents, and a 2023 shield law bars Minnesota courts, police and licensing boards from helping other states punish patients or providers. The sections below give the statute behind each rule, the 2024 numbers, and the places where the law is less settled than it looks.

What Minnesota Law Guarantees

The PRO Act

Laws 2023, chapter 4, created § 145.409. Subdivision 3 gives every individual a fundamental right to make autonomous decisions about their own reproductive health, and gives every person who becomes pregnant a fundamental right to continue the pregnancy and give birth or to obtain an abortion.

Subdivision 5 bars any local unit of government from regulating that right more restrictively than the statute does. A city or county cannot pass its own abortion ban.

Stacked diagram showing the 1995 court ruling, the 2023 PRO Act and the bar on local limits

The 1995 constitutional ruling

In Doe v. Gomez, 542 N.W.2d 17 (Minn. 1995), the Minnesota Supreme Court held that the state constitution protects the right to abortion more broadly than the U.S. Constitution does. The Attorney General’s office notes that this holding was not affected by the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

How firmly is the right fixed?

The protection rests on a statute and a court decision, not on a constitutional amendment. University of Minnesota law professor Jill Hasday told MPR News that a future Minnesota Supreme Court could change course, as the U.S. Supreme Court did in Dobbs.

DFL lawmakers have tried in recent sessions to put an Equal Rights Amendment with abortion protections on the statewide ballot and have come up short, so voters have not been asked. MPR News also reported that both major-party candidates for governor said at an October 21, 2026 debate that they would not try to roll back the 2023 law.

Who Can Provide Care, and Where

Abortion no longer has to be performed by a physician or in a hospital. Nurse practitioners can provide care in person or by telehealth when they act within their license and follow medication requirements, and birth centers and other facilities can offer abortions.

A Ramsey County judge struck down the physician-only and hospital rules in Doe v. State on July 11, 2022, and the Legislature repealed them in the 2023 Health and Human Services omnibus law (Laws 2023, chapter 70). Services can also be delivered by telehealth, so a patient does not always have to visit a facility.

What Minnesota Repealed or Courts Blocked

The same July 11, 2022 ruling, Doe v. State, No. 62-CV-19-3868 (Ramsey County District Court), declared several abortion restrictions unconstitutional. The 2023 omnibus law then removed most of them from the statute books. The table shows where each one stands.

Former requirement	Status	How it ended
24-hour waiting period	Gone	Enjoined in 2022; §§ 145.4242 and 145.4243 repealed in 2023
State-scripted counseling (fetal description, “fetal pain,” list of alternatives)	Gone	Same ruling and repeal
Physician-only and hospital-only rules	Gone	Struck in 2022; repealed in 2023 omnibus law
Viability limit, § 145.412	Gone	Repealed by Laws 2023, ch. 70, art. 4, § 113
Two-parent notice for minors, § 144.343, subds. 2-6	Enjoined	Permanent injunction, July 11, 2022; text remains in the code

Then-and-now chart showing the waiting period, scripted counseling and provider rules gone and parental notice enjoined

Providers also report less. The 2023 amendments to § 145.4131 dropped the reason for the abortion, prior abortion history, payment method and insurance type from the reporting form, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

Can minors get an abortion without telling a parent?

Yes. The Ramsey County court permanently enjoined the notice requirement in § 144.343, subdivisions 2 to 6, and the disclosure rule in § 145.4242, so neither can be enforced. The state announced it would not appeal, according to news reports at the time.

The statute text still appears in the Minnesota code. Ramsey County’s chief judge acted on the ruling in a court order signed July 22, 2022, which ended the county’s judicial-bypass hearing process because the court saw no basis to continue it. The Judicial Branch republished that order in accessible form on February 19, 2025.

Paying for an Abortion in Minnesota

Does private insurance cover abortion?

Yes, for state-regulated plans. Minn. Stat. § 62Q.524 requires a health plan to cover abortions and abortion-related services, including preabortion and follow-up services. It applies to plans offered, sold, issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025.

The plan cannot charge a co-payment, coinsurance, deductible or other cost-sharing greater than it charges for similar covered services. It also cannot add utilization review, prior authorization, referral requirements or delays that do not apply to its other coverage.

The section does not apply to managed care and county-based purchasing plans that cover public-program enrollees under chapters 256B and 256L. Those enrollees are covered through Medical Assistance instead.

The Commissioner of Commerce reimburses insurers under subdivision 4, but only for coverage a plan would not have provided without the mandate. Anything a plan already covered on January 1, 2024 does not qualify. The statute is silent on how that reimbursement affects premiums, so it is not accurate to say the state absorbs the full cost.

Self-funded employer plans, which federal law governs, generally fall outside state insurance mandates. Ask your plan administrator whether your plan is fully insured or self-funded.

Three-box graphic showing private plans, public programs and self-funded plans and how each treats abortion coverage

Does Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare cover it?

Yes, for eligible Minnesotans. The Attorney General’s guidance says public assistance covers or partly covers abortion for qualifying low-income patients, and that the funds are no longer limited to rape, incest or danger to the patient’s health (Minn. Stat. § 256B.0625, subd. 16; § 256L.03, subd. 1).

The Legislature amended subdivision 16 in 2024 (Laws 2024, chapter 127, article 57, section 58) to line Medical Assistance coverage up with the private-plan mandate. Medical Assistance is limited to Minnesota residents, so out-of-state patients pay another way.

What if the cost is still a problem?

Abortion funds can help with the procedure and with travel, and the National Network of Abortion Funds keeps a directory. Ask the clinic about its own sliding-scale or payment options when you call.

Protection From Other States: The Reproductive Freedom Defense Act

H.F. 366 was signed on April 27, 2023, and it took effect the next day (Laws 2023, chapter 31). It spreads protection across several statutes so that Minnesota’s courts, police, boards and agencies do not help another state punish reproductive health care that is legal here.

Protection	Statute	What it does
Health records	§ 144.2935, subd. 2	Another state’s subpoena law or court order is not authority to release a patient’s records
Lawsuits, judgments, subpoenas	§ 548.252	Minnesota courts will not apply another state’s abortion-suit law or enforce the resulting civil judgment or related subpoena
Clawback	§ 604.415	A person hit with an out-of-state judgment can sue the plaintiff for the judgment amount, fees and costs
Arrest and extradition	§§ 629.02, 629.05, 629.06, 629.13, 629.14	No arrest or surrender for acts committed or services received in Minnesota
Professional licenses	§§ 147.091, subd. 1c; 147A.13, subd. 1a; 148.261, subd. 1b; 151.071, subd. 2b	Boards cannot deny or discipline a license solely over lawful Minnesota care, or an out-of-state conviction or discipline for it
Background studies	§ 245C.15, subd. 6	Accessing or providing reproductive health care cannot disqualify someone

There is one exception in § 548.252: the protection does not apply if the act would have supported a valid claim in Minnesota, or could have drawn civil or criminal penalties here at the time.

Diagram of Minnesota's border deflecting out-of-state subpoenas, judgments and extradition requests

Telehealth providers inside Minnesota

The law amended § 629.01 so that “acts committed in this state” include any action taken while a person is physically present in Minnesota. A Minnesota-based clinician who prescribes by telehealth is therefore acting in Minnesota for extradition purposes, wherever the patient is located. If you are comparing how medication abortion is handled elsewhere, see our overview of Missouri abortion laws.

Where shield laws are being tested

A shield law controls what Minnesota’s own courts, police and boards do. It cannot stop another state from filing a case in its own courts, and courts have not settled how far shield laws hold up against those cases.

Texas’s attorney general sued a New York doctor over mailed abortion pills in December 2024. A Texas law that took effect December 4, 2025 lets private citizens sue anyone who sends abortion pills into Texas for at least $100,000, and The 19th reported that the first suit under it targeted a California doctor. Minnesota providers have no special immunity from suits like these if they travel or hold assets in another state.

Medication Abortion and Telehealth

The FDA approves mifepristone, taken with misoprostol, to end a pregnancy through 70 days (ten weeks) of gestation, according to the agency’s mifepristone questions and answers. Minnesota providers can prescribe it after a telehealth visit, and the pills can be mailed. The Department of Health counted 1,641 telehealth abortions in Minnesota in 2024, up from 1,376 in 2023.

Federal rules for mailing and telehealth prescribing have been in court throughout 2026. Louisiana sued the FDA in October 2025 to bring back an in-person dispensing requirement. A federal district court paused the case on April 7, 2026 so the FDA could finish a safety review, and ordered a status report by October 7, 2026.

On May 1, 2026 the Fifth Circuit suspended the FDA rules that allow telehealth prescribing, mail delivery and pharmacy dispensing nationwide. On May 14, 2026 the U.S. Supreme Court granted stays in Danco Laboratories v. Louisiana, No. 25A1207, with Justices Thomas and Alito dissenting. The stay lasts through the Fifth Circuit appeal and any petition for certiorari.

A change in the federal rules would alter how pills reach patients. It would not change Minnesota’s own law on who may provide abortion care.

Abortion in Minnesota by the Numbers

The Department of Health’s 2024 report to the Legislature counted 14,358 abortions performed in Minnesota, down from 14,711 in 2023. Of the 2024 total, 11,559 patients lived in Minnesota and 2,799 did not.

Year	Abortions in Minnesota	Share to residents
2021	10,138	90.0%
2022	12,193	83.7%
2023	14,711	78.7%
2024	14,358	80.1%

Bar chart of abortions performed in Minnesota from 2021 to 2024

Out-of-state patients came mostly from neighboring states: 900 from North Dakota, 767 from Wisconsin, 529 from Iowa and 377 from South Dakota. Texas accounted for 57. If you are weighing care across state lines, our guide to Iowa abortion laws explains what is allowed there.

Most abortions are early. Of the 13,361 abortions with a reported gestational age, 12,244 were in the first trimester, 1,115 in the second and 2 in the third. A total of 247 were at 21 to 24 weeks. Clinics performed 12,492 of the procedures and telehealth 1,641, and 14,336 reported no intraoperative complications.

Planned Parenthood reported 8,052 abortions, about 56% of the state total. Whole Woman’s Health, Red River Women’s Clinic, Carafem, Just The Pill, Women’s Health Center and independent physicians reported the rest. Hennepin County residents accounted for 3,935 of the resident abortions, Ramsey County for 1,804, Dakota County for 872 and Anoka County for 734.

The numbers carry caveats. The Department of Health revised the 2024 tables on January 2, 2026 to remove 2,586 duplicated records and again on February 25, 2026 to add 629 records. It also dropped some tables after the CDC stopped national abortion data collection in July 2025. By statute (§ 145.4134) the Commissioner issues each year’s report by December 31.

Later Abortion and Patients From Other States

Is there a limit on how late abortion can be performed?

No gestational limit appears in Minnesota statute. The viability restriction in § 145.412 was repealed in 2023, and the PRO Act does not tie the right to a stage of pregnancy. Individual clinics and hospitals set their own clinical policies, and the 2024 data show only a handful of abortions after 24 weeks.

If an infant is born alive, § 145.423 requires responsible medical personnel to take all reasonable measures consistent with good medical practice to care for that infant.

Do you have to live in Minnesota?

No. Minnesota law sets no residency requirement for abortion care, and 2,799 patients from other states received care here in 2024. Medical Assistance is the exception, since it covers residents only.

Timeline of Minnesota Abortion Law Changes

Date	Change	Authority
1995	State constitutional right to abortion recognized	Doe v. Gomez, 542 N.W.2d 17
July 11, 2022	Waiting period, scripted counseling, two-parent notice and provider limits enjoined	Doe v. State, No. 62-CV-19-3868
July 22, 2022	Ramsey County ends its parental-notification hearing process	Second Judicial District order
2023	PRO Act enacted	Laws 2023, ch. 4
April 27, 2023	Reproductive Freedom Defense Act signed	Laws 2023, ch. 31
2023	Omnibus law repeals waiting period, counseling, provider limits and § 145.412	Laws 2023, ch. 70
January 1, 2025	Private-plan coverage mandate takes effect	Minn. Stat. § 62Q.524
May 14, 2026	Supreme Court keeps telehealth and mail access to mifepristone in place	No. 25A1207

Attempts to reverse the coverage rules have not changed the statutes. S.F. 3775, introduced February 23, 2026, would have ended abortion coverage under Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare and repealed the private-plan mandate for most plans. Section 62Q.524 and § 256B.0625, subdivision 16, remain as the 2024 law wrote them.

Finding Care and Getting Help

Making an appointment

Call a clinic or health system directly, or ask a telehealth provider whether it serves your county. The state no longer sets waiting-period or counseling steps, so intake forms, identification and payment steps differ from one provider to the next. Ask what to bring when you call.

Spotting a crisis pregnancy center

The Attorney General’s office warns that some crisis pregnancy centers present themselves as clinics but do not provide abortion care or comprehensive reproductive health care. Ask whether licensed clinicians work on site, ask what services are offered, and confirm you are at the right address before you arrive.

Who to contact

If a provider or pharmacy in Minnesota denies you mifepristone, or you want to report a barrier to abortion care, email [email protected]. To report a facility giving deceptive or inaccurate information, call the Attorney General’s office at (651) 296-3353 in the Twin Cities area, (800) 657-3787 elsewhere in Minnesota, or (800) 627-3529 through Minnesota Relay.

If you have been threatened with arrest, prosecution or other legal action over abortion, the Abortion Defense Network can connect you with an attorney.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is abortion legal at any stage of pregnancy in Minnesota?

Minnesota statute contains no gestational limit, because § 145.412 was repealed in 2023. Clinics and hospitals set their own clinical policies, and most abortions happen early, with 12,244 of 13,361 in 2024 in the first trimester.

Do I have to wait 24 hours before an abortion?

No. A Ramsey County court enjoined the waiting period on July 11, 2022, and the Legislature repealed it in 2023.

Will my insurance cover abortion?

State-regulated private plans offered, sold, issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025 must cover it under § 62Q.524, with cost-sharing no higher than for similar services. Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare cover it for eligible residents, and self-funded employer plans may follow different rules.

Do I need a parent’s permission or notice if I am under 18?

No. The two-parent notice law, § 144.343 subdivisions 2 to 6, was permanently enjoined on July 11, 2022 and cannot be enforced.

Can I come to Minnesota for an abortion if my home state bans it?

Yes. Minnesota has no residency requirement, and its shield laws bar Minnesota courts, police and boards from helping another state pursue you. They cannot control what your home state does in its own courts.

Can I get abortion pills by telehealth?

Yes. Minnesota law allows telehealth abortion care, and the Supreme Court’s May 14, 2026 stay keeps federal telehealth and mail rules for mifepristone in place while the Louisiana case continues.