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Minnesota lawmakers passed 31 laws this spring, even if they didn t finish drafting a new two-year budget.
The new policies included responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as a law allowing dentists to administer COVID-19 vaccines.
And the new laws also included changes to the state s medical marijuana statute and a new law to keep babies with their incarcerated mothers for the first year after birth.
The Legislature will return to St. Paul in mid-June to pass a state budget and finalize other work.
The first law of the year extended a policy allowing couples to apply for marriage licenses remotely, rather than in person, from January through May because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Minnesota becomes first state to stop separating moms and their newborns in prison This is what happens when you center the voices of women at the decision-making table,” said Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. By
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Pregnant inmates are often separated from their newborns shortly after their birth to finish their sentence.
The separation can impair the development of a bond between the parent and their child, making reunification difficult.
A new law in Minnesota will allow inmates alternatives to permit them to remain with their newborns.
For much of the 20th century, parents were separated from their children at birth to prevent infection a practice that was later reversed after modern science acknowledged the consequences on newborns. But in prisons across the United States, parents continue to be torn from their children soon after giving birth to finish out their sentence, robbing both of the bond that develops in that time.
A mother s pain: Former inmates help change MN law after speaking out about post-birth separations
A record number of bipartisan, women legislators have come together to pass a first-of-its-kind prison birth policy in Minnesota. Author: Kent Erdahl Updated: 6:59 PM CDT May 12, 2021
MINNEAPOLIS On the day after Mother s Day, an unprecedented number of women in the Minnesota legislature stood up for one of the most overlooked group of mothers in American society.
The bipartisan legislation known as the Healthy Start Act, is now headed to the desk of Governor Walz. Once signed, it will change a Minnesota law, which separates incarcerated women from their babies just hours after giving birth.