Minnesota Democrats are advancing legislation that would recognize an “inherent right” for uncultivated wild rice to “exist and thrive,” even as state law continues to uphold expansive abortion “rights.” Senate File 3749 (SF3749), introduced by Senator Mary Kunesh (D-New Brighton) on February 19, 2026, would amend Minnesota’s statute describing the state’s official grain and add language recognizing such a right.
The proposal comes three years after Governor Tim Walz signed the Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act into law on January 31, 2023. The law codifies abortion as a “fundamental right” in Minnesota statute, and allows the procedure at any stage when deemed necessary for the mother’s health.
Wild rice has been Minnesota’s official state grain since 1977. SF3749 expands the statute declaring such to include scientific names and indigenous terms, and adds: “It is the policy of this state to recognize the inherent right of uncultivated wild rice to exist and thrive in Minnesota.”
During a March 10 hearing before the Senate State and Local Government Committee, supporters emphasized wild rice’s cultural and environmental importance. An oral amendment to remove the “inherent rights” language failed on a 7-5 vote.
Wild rice is undeniably valuable to Minnesota’s heritage and ecosystem. Yet the language of rights carries serious meaning. Rights belong to human beings — created in the image of God and endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights. When lawmakers extend such terminology to plants while refusing protection to preborn children, they are unserious, make illegitimate arguments, and reveal a deeper conflict over the source and meaning of rights.
In a constitutional republic, government exists to secure God-given rights — beginning with the right to life, as recognized in the Declaration of Independence and protected by the Ninth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution — not invent new ones.
