Alliance for a Better Minnesota Launches Fifth TV Ad Against Scott Jensen

MINNESOTA - Today, Alliance for a Better Minnesota Action Fund released their fifth anti-Scott Jensen TV ad. The spot features Scott Jensen, in his own words, clearly stating that he would ban abortion if he becomes governor of Minnesota.

“Republican candidate for governor Scott Jensen has clearly and repeatedly said that he would ban abortion in Minnesota if elected governor. In May 2022, Jensen even said he supported banning abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest,” said Marissa Luna, executive director of Alliance for a Better Minnesota Action Fund. “Scott Jensen’s extreme plan to ban abortion is dangerous and wrong for Minnesota. We need a leader who will reduce barriers to and protect access to safe, legal abortion in our state.”

In an MPR interview in March 2022, Scott Jensen said, “I would try to ban abortion.”

In a YouTube video posted by Scott Jensen in April 2022, he stated, “We’re going to ban abortions. That’s really not news.”

In an interview with WCCO Radio in May 2022, Jensen confirmed that he would ban abortion without exceptions for rape or incest. And in the same interview, Jensen said he would sign any legislation restricting abortion that would come to his desk as governor.

Jensen also received a 100% rating from an extreme anti-choice organization, Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL). He said on the campaign trail that he would rubberstamp their agenda and “sign anything that they [MCCL] said that we should do.”

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.

Scott Jensen’s running mate, Matt Birk, is just as extreme.

In a video from June 2022 of Matt Birk speaking at a National Right to Life conference, he celebrated the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, compared safe, legal abortion to slavery, and said, "women used to not be able to vote, now we let them drive." He also 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."

In the same speech, Matt Birk promised that he and Scott Jensen would work to pass laws that ban abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest. Scott Jensen defended Birk’s comments in an interview on WCCO and praised Matt Birk’s refusal to “back off” from his extreme anti-choice positions on abortion.

Scott Jensen and Matt Birk’s extreme stances on abortion are out of touch 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.

Alliance for a Better Minnesota Action Fund has released four prior TV ads: the first ad features three Minnesota women reacting to Jensen in his own words, saying that he would try to ban abortion in Minnesota. The second ad features a Minnesota OB-GYN reacting to Jensen’s extreme plan to ban abortion. The third ad features a Minnesota mother named Shannon sharing her experience with abortion. And the fourth ad features a Minnesota father reacting to Jensen’s plan to ban abortion.

In addition to TV ads, the organization is running a slate of digital ads highlighting the harm Scott Jensen’s extreme anti-abortion plan would inflict on Minnesotans.

Alliance for a Better Minnesota Action Fund also launched WrongForMinnesota.com to highlight Jensen’s extreme stances and out-of-touch policies on issues from abortion to education.