Promote reunification of immediate families; meet the economic, business and employment needs of the United States; be responsive to those facing political persecution or humanitarian crises; and provide for student visas. Ensure fair treatment under the law for all persons. In transition to a reformed system, support provisions for unauthorized immigrants already in the country to earn legal status.
Support incorporating immigrants into our communities by providing access to education, by endorsing the development of secure identification documents, and by respecting the right of law enforcement personnel to perform their duties without the burden of interpreting federal immigration policies. Oppose residents with legal immigrant status running for local office.
All Minnesota children should have equal access to a good public education. State funding for education should be at a level that makes programs of comparable substance and quality available to all. A student’s access to a good education should not depend on the wealth of his or her school district.
Promote a health care system for the United States that provides access to a basic level of quality care for all U.S. residents, including behavioral health, and controls health care costs. Every U.S. resident should have access to a basic level of care that includes: the prevention of disease; health promotion and education; primary care (including prenatal and reproductive health); acute care; long-term care; mental health care.
Support a comprehensive and coordinated system of programs and services for mentally ill adults and emotionally disturbed children and adolescents. Priority should be given to persons with serious and persistent mental illness or acute mental illness. Public policy and funding should sustain an array of community based services which are available and accessible to persons with mental illness. Administration of that policy should provide clients with appropriate and adequate services.
Support equal access to education, employment and housing. Support policies to ensure equality of opportunity in employment, real property, public accommodations, education and other public services for all persons. Support administrative enforcement of anti-discrimination laws. Support state responsibility for and responsiveness to American Indian citizens.
Support a judicial system with the capacity to assure a speedy trial and equal justice for all. Selection of judges: (a) Initial appointment of judgeship by the governor, who must choose from among a list of qualified candidates forwarded by a nominating commission. (b) End-of-term evaluation of the judge’s performance by an evaluation commission, results to be made available to the public. (c) Retention election: voters choose to retain or not retain the judge.
Supreme Court Strips Americans of Constitutional Right to Abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Decision
Court signals threat to marriage equality, contraception, and private intimacy
WASHINGTON — Today the League of Women Voters of the United States President Dr. Deborah Turner and CEO Virginia Kase Solomón issued the following joint statement in response to the 6 – 3 Supreme Court decision of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturns the constitutional right to abortion as recognized for nearly 50 years in the landmark cases of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey:
“Today’s ruling strips women and those who may become pregnant of their bodily autonomy and will have devastating — and immediate — consequences across the country. While the Court’s opinion was expected, its harm is extreme and real. When women and those who can become pregnant can no longer make reproductive decisions for their own bodies, they are no longer equal individuals in our democracy. This harm will exacerbate societal inequalities and fall disproportionately on people of color and low-income communities already facing egregious obstacles to health care.
"The decision foreshadows the erosion of other well-established Constitutional rights including marriage equality, access to contraception, and the right to engage in private, consensual intimate conduct.
"The dissenting Justices get it exactly right: today’s majority opinion is an assault on the constitutional guarantee to equal protection of the laws and the right to due process. With this decision, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and other historically marginalized communities have no guarantees that their civil rights will be protected.
"The League of Women Voters stands in our power with our reproductive partners and all persons who fear the dangerous consequences of this decision. We will use our anger to fight in the legislatures, in the courts, and in the streets. We call on our elected leaders at the state and federal levels to act swiftly to restore bodily autonomy to all people.
"Women hold the power to create a more perfect democracy. We will not stand by as constitutional rights are stripped away, one by one. Women’s rights are human rights, and we will continue to fight until the right to abortion is restored. Our lives depend on it.”
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