Personal medical decisions should stay personal.
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending nearly fifty years of federal protection for reproductive rights.
That decision did not affect everyone equally. It created a patchwork of state laws where a woman’s access to reproductive healthcare depends on where she lives, how much money she has, and whether she can travel for care.
Erik believes that is wrong.
The decision to continue or end a pregnancy is one of the most personal decisions a person can face. It can involve medical risk, family circumstances, faith, finances, trauma, and deeply held values.
That decision should be made by a woman and her doctor.
Not politicians.
Not judges responding to political pressure.
Not the federal government.
Not the state.
Erik believes reproductive freedom is about privacy, dignity, and personal liberty. The same principle that says government should not interfere with your land, your business, your home, or your medical decisions applies here too.
Some decisions are too personal for politicians to make.
We can do better.
Erik’s Priorities
Erik will fight to:
- Restore federal protections for reproductive rights
- Protect the right to make private medical decisions without political interference
- Oppose abortion bans with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the health of the mother
- Protect access to contraception and reproductive healthcare
- Support doctors’ ability to provide appropriate medical care without fear of prosecution
- Protect patients facing miscarriage, pregnancy complications, infertility, and other reproductive health needs
- Oppose efforts to criminalize women, doctors, or families for deeply personal medical decisions
- Make sure rural women are not denied care because of distance, cost, or political restrictions
…by restoring federal protections for reproductive freedom, protecting the privacy of medical decisions, and making sure women can make the most personal choices about their bodies, families, and futures with their doctors — not politicians.
What Dobbs Changed
The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade and eliminated the federal constitutional framework that had protected reproductive rights since 1973.
The result is a patchwork of laws across the country.
In some states, abortion remains legal and accessible. In others, it has been banned or severely restricted. That means a person’s access to reproductive healthcare may depend on geography, income, transportation, and the ability to take time off work or travel hundreds of miles.
That is not a fair or responsible system.
Healthcare access should not depend on which side of a state line you live on.
Protect the Right to Privacy
For nearly fifty years, Roe recognized that reproductive decisions are protected by a constitutional right to privacy.
Erik believes that principle was right.
Some decisions are so personal, so serious, and so dependent on individual circumstances that government should not make them for you.
Pregnancy decisions involve health, family, faith, safety, finances, and medical judgment. No law can account for every situation a woman may face. No politician should pretend otherwise.
Erik supports restoring federal protection for reproductive rights and the privacy that should govern these decisions.
Keep Politicians Out of the Exam Room
Reproductive healthcare is healthcare.
That includes abortion care, contraception, miscarriage care, fertility treatment, pregnancy care, and emergency care when something goes wrong.
Since Dobbs, doctors in restrictive states have faced confusion and fear about when they can intervene in pregnancy complications. Patients have faced delays, denials, and uncertainty in some of the most frightening moments of their lives.
That is dangerous.
Doctors should be able to act in the best medical interest of their patients. Patients should be able to get accurate information and appropriate care.
Politicians should not be standing between a patient and a doctor.
Oppose Extreme Bans
Erik believes abortion bans with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the health of the mother are extreme and dangerous.
These are not abstract scenarios.
They are real situations faced by real people, often in the worst moments of their lives.
Forcing a rape survivor to carry a pregnancy to term, or preventing a doctor from acting when a patient’s health is at risk, is not responsible governance. It is government overreach at its most personal and most harmful.
Erik will oppose federal legislation that imposes extreme restrictions on reproductive healthcare or criminalizes women, doctors, or families for personal medical decisions.
Protect Rural Healthcare Access
In Western Minnesota, healthcare access is already measured in miles.
When reproductive healthcare is restricted, the burden falls hardest on people who have fewer options: rural women, low-income families, young people, people without reliable transportation, and anyone who cannot easily travel for care.
Erik believes reproductive freedom has to include practical access to care.
That means protecting rural healthcare providers, supporting accurate medical information, protecting access to contraception, and making sure women are not forced to navigate a maze of restrictions when they need care.
Rights do not mean much if people cannot actually use them.
Protect Contraception and Family Planning
Access to contraception is basic healthcare.
It helps people plan families, protect their health, manage medical conditions, and make decisions about their futures.
Erik supports protecting access to contraception and family planning services. These decisions should be made by individuals and families in consultation with their healthcare providers.
Government should not make it harder for people to prevent pregnancy, plan their families, or access the care they need.
Trust Women
At the center of this issue is a simple question: who should make the decision?
Erik believes the answer is the woman whose body, health, family, and future are on the line.
That does not mean every person will make the same decision. It means the government should not make that decision for them.
You can respect the seriousness of pregnancy, faith, family, and life while still recognizing that personal medical decisions belong to the person living with the consequences.
Erik trusts women.
Erik Wants to Hear From You
Reproductive rights affect families across Western Minnesota.
If you want to share your perspective, your experience, or your concerns about access to care, Erik wants to hear from you.