If anti-choice politicians in Minnesota really want to put onerous licensing and regulations on clinics that provide abortions by reclassifying them as “ambulatory surgical centers,” they are going to have to apply the same rules to a whole lot of other health care providers, too, according to Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton.

Vetoing the TRAP law that was passed by both the Minnesota House and Senate, Dayton said:

The legislation targets only facilities which provide abortions. If regulation of clinics were the concern, the bill should have required licensing of all clinics, not just a select few. If the Legislature wants to create a new regulatory scheme for health care clinics, then all clinics should be treated equally. No clinic or procedure should be the focus of special and unique regulatory requirements.

Minnesota Citizens Concerned For Life accused the Governor of “putting women at risk” with his veto.

“This veto highlights Gov. Dayton’s commitment to protecting the abortion industry, even when it results in putting women’s health at risk. Abortion is one of the most common medical procedures in Minnesota, and there is no way for women to know if they are going to be in a safe or clean facility.”

The Minnesota Medical Association, however, applauded the move, and hopes that Dayton will veto a second bill as well — this one targeting the drug RU-486. “The MMA’s concern, and the reason for the letter urging the vetoes, is that these pieces of legislation inappropriately intrude on the practice of medicine in the state of Minnesota,” said Janet Silversmith, the MMA’s director of health policy, via statement.