Scott Jensen Defends Matt Birk's Offensive Comments on Abortion

MINNESOTA - Yesterday, in an interview with WCCO radio, Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen defended his running mate Matt Birk’s wildly offensive comments about women and abortion at a National Right to Life conference in June 2022.

“Scott Jensen’s defense of Matt Birk’s wildly offensive remarks towards women confirms he does not believe that everyone should have the freedom and power to control their own bodies and lives,” said Marissa Luna, Executive Director of Alliance for a Better Minnesota. “Scott Jensen and Matt Birk have repeatedly threatened to ban abortion in Minnesota without exceptions for rape or incest. Minnesotans deserve a leader who will reduce barriers to and protect access to safe, legal abortion. Scott Jensen is wrong for Minnesota.”

In the interview of Scott Jensen on WCCO radio, Jensen praised Matt Birk’s refusal to “back off” from his extreme anti-choice positions on abortion.

In the video of Matt Birk speaking at the National Right to Life conference, he celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. He compared safe, legal abortion to slavery and said, “women used to not be able to vote, now we let them drive.” He reiterated that he doesn’t believe that rape victims should get able to get abortions and said that “if a woman is unexpectedly pregnant, she could be the answer to someone’s prayer.” He also repeated his and Scott Jensen’s intentions to ban abortion in Minnesota without exceptions for rape or incest.

Matt Birk also previously said that Planned Parenthood was next to the KKK as the most racist organization in America and said rape victims shouldn't be able to get an abortion.

In an MPR interview in March 2022, Scott Jensen said that he would ban abortion in Minnesota without exceptions for rape or incest.

And in a video at a St.Thomas College Republicans meeting, Scott Jensen touted, "If I get a chance to sign a pro-life piece of legislation, we're not just going to sign it, we're going to have a party."

Sixty percent of Minnesota voters say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, and sixty-five percent would oppose new severe restrictions on abortion.