Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life is among more than 70 state, national and international pro-life organizations whose representatives signed an open letter urging state lawmakers across the nation to reject initiatives that would impose criminal penalties on women who have abortions.

The National Right to Life Committee, Right to Life organizations around the country, Archbishop William Lori, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and representatives of the Southern Baptist Convention, Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty and other groups were among the signers.

“As national and state pro-life organizations, representing tens of millions of pro-life men, women, and children across the country, let us be clear: We state unequivocally that any measure seeking to criminalize or punish women is not pro-life and we stand firmly opposed to such efforts,” the joint letter said.

“There are two victims in every abortion: the unborn child who loses her life, and her mother who is left abandoned by the abortion industry to deal with any physical complications, as well as the emotional and psychological pain of the abortion trauma for months or even years to come, Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, said in a news release. “This joint letter recognizes that women who have abortions require our compassion and support, not criminalization.”

The letter, dated May 12, was written as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to rule in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, with Mississippi appealing a lower court ruling that struck down as unconstitutional the state’s law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. On May 2, Politico reported on a leaked draft opinion from Justice Samuel Alito that showed a majority of the court prepared to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion across the nation.

If the court uses the case to overturn Roe v. Wade, removing a constitutional right to abortion, policy toward abortion will return to national and state lawmakers. In Minnesota, however, a 1995 Minnesota Supreme Court ruling, Doe v. Gomez, established a state right to abortion that the court said also included a right to taxpayer funding of abortions.

Founded in 1968, MCCL has sponsored the annual March for Life in Minnesota since 1974, among its other political and advocacy efforts.

“We will keep working, harder than ever, to protect unborn children in Minnesota. We believe that all human beings, no matter their age, size, or ability, have human rights,” said MCCL Executive Director Scott Fischbach. “And we will keep supporting and loving pregnant women, too, and women who have experienced the devastation of abortion. Love for mother and child is what the pro-life movement is all about.”