Minnesota Physicians Stand Up Against Scott Jensen

MINNESOTA - Today, Minnesota physicians from across the state denounced Minnesota Republican governor candidate Scott Jensen for spreading dangerous COVID-19 misinformation, his extreme plan to ban abortion in Minnesota, and the threat his candidacy poses to the health and well-being of Minnesotans.

“Physicians are ethically required to put the health of their patients first,” said Dr. Hannah Lichstinn, a Minnesota Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Physician. “In spreading COVID misinformation, withholding life-saving vaccines, and misrepresenting the potential benefits of disproven treatments, Scott Jensen has repeatedly violated his oath to do no harm and, as a result, has put the health of his patients and due to his large political platform, all Minnesotans, at risk.”

In December 2020, Kaiser Health News called Scott Jensen’s COVID-19 comments the “Lie of the Year.” That same month, the Washington Post also fact-checked Jensen’s lies.

In a 2020 Star Tribune story, the director of medical ethics at New York University’s school of medicine called Jensen’s COVID-19 comments problematic and politically driven.

In 2021, Scott Jensen joined a group of right-wing doctors trying to block the use of the COVID vaccine in 12 to 15-year-olds.

In a video from an April 2022 Mask Off MN event, Scott Jensen compared COVID public health policies to the Holocaust, Nazi Germany, Kristallnacht, and the rise of Hitler.

“There is no excuse for the positions that Scott Jensen took during the pandemic. He advocated unproven COVID-19 treatments. He aligned himself with anti-vaxxers and criticized mask requirements, comparing them to Nazi Germany,” said Dr. Victor Sandler, former Co-Chair of the University of Minnesota Medical Center's Ethics Committee. “As doctors, we take an oath to do no harm. By advocating for COVID treatments that don't work, Scott Jensen may well have harmed Minnesotans. I wouldn't let Scott Jensen take care of me, my wife, my children, or my grandchildren. He is dangerous.”

Scott Jensen was investigated by the Minnesota state medical board for spreading COVID-19 conspiracy theories and giving reckless medical advice.

And in June 2022, Scott Jensen threatened the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice with political retaliation for their investigation if elected governor.

“Scott Jensen doesn’t understand the science of COVID-19 or worse yet, does understand the science but has chosen to deny it in a quest for political gain. Scott Jensen is not the right choice for governor of Minnesota,” said Dr. Michael Schoenleber, a Family Medicine Physician from Roseville, Minnesota.

Minnesota physicians also denounced Jensen’s extreme plan to ban abortion in Minnesota.

“Scott Jensen's positions on abortion are not good for the citizens of Minnesota. Abortion is health care. The decision to have an abortion should occur between a woman and her physician,” said Dr. Jennifer Welsh, a Family Medicine Physician from Minnesota. “Scott Jensen’s views are too extreme to protect the health and well-being of Minnesotans.”

In an MPR interview in March 2022, Scott Jensen said he would try to ban abortion in Minnesota. And in an interview with WCCO Radio in May 2022, Jensen confirmed that he would ban abortion without exceptions for rape or incest.

Scott Jensen has a long anti-choice record in the Minnesota Senate and supported legislation in 2017 with restrictive licensing guidelines for abortion facilities. And he voted to restrict access to abortions by defunding organizations that perform abortions and receive taxpayer funding.

Jensen also received a 100% rating from an extreme anti-choice organization, Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life.

Scott Jensen’s extreme stance on abortion are at odds with the sixty percent of Minnesota voters who say abortion should be legal in all or most cases and sixty-five percent who oppose new severe restrictions on abortion.