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Legislation to Watch
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| Pro-Choice Legislation: |
| A Roe of Our Own |
A Roe of Our Own takes the protections of Roe v. Wade and puts them squarely into Wisconsin law so that no matter what happens to Roe v. Wade at the federal level, Wisconsin women's rights to a legal safe abortion will be protected. Wisconsin must be prepared if the right to choose is threated by a weakening of Roe or further federal encroachments. In 2007 - for the first time ever - the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a ban on a safe medical procedure. The Federal Abortion Ban criminalizes abortions considered safest for some women with particular high-risk medical conditions, even when a women's health is threatened. The Court threw out years of precendent and declared that abortion bans can ignore women's health. Wisconsin women can no longer trust the Supreme Court to protect our rights. If Roe is overturned, abortion will immediately be illegal in Wisconsin. Wisconsin has a antiquated abortion ban from the mid-1800's still on its books that carries a penalty of up to 15 years in jail for doctors who provide abortions and up to 3.5 years in jail for women who hae an abortion or attempt to perform an abortion on themselves. There is no exception for cases of rape or incest or pregnancies that risk the health of the woman. If Roe is overturned, Wisconsin's Criminal Abortion Ban will immediately go back into effect, and abortion will once again become a crime in our state. The consequences will be dire. Wisconsin needs a Roe of Our Own to repeal Wisconsin's Criminal Abortion Ban and ensure that no matter what happens to Roe v. Wade women in Wisconsin will be protected. |
| Healthy Youth Act |
| Bill Number: |
AB 458 |
| Status: |
Signed into law by Gov. Doyle - 2/24/10 |
| Sponsor(s): |
Representatives Grigsby, Roys, Shilling, Berceau, Black, Kessler, Pasch, Fields, Vruwink, Turner, Soletski, Benedict, Pope-Roberts, Richards, Seidel, Danou, Pocan, Sinicki, Hintz, Smith, Bernard Schaber, Dexter, Hraychuck, Molepske, Zepnick and Toles |
The Healthy Youth Act works to ensure that Wisconsin youth receive comprehensive, medically accurate, age appropriate sex education, including information about abstinence as well as preventing unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Giving young people truthful information about contraceptives and sexuality reduces unintended pregnancy and disease. This bill requires schools that teach sex education to do so in a responsible, comprehensive manner that includes information about both abstinence and birth control. A 2008 CDC study revealed that 1 in 4 teenage girls have a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Additionally, there are 750,000 teen pregnancies each year in the United States. By requiring age-appropriate, medically-accurate and comprehensive sex education, teens now have the tools they need to make responsible and healthy choices now, and in the future, to help prevent unintended pregnancies and STIs. This year, the teen pregnancy rate in the United States increased for the first time in over a decade. More than half of all American teens aged 15-19 years old have had sexual intercourse. Each year, almost 900,000 pregnancies occur among these teens, and 48% of all new STI cases occur among teens and young adults aged 15-24. Comprehensive sex education works. Research demonstrates that successful sex education programs employ a comprehensive approach that teaches about abstinence, but also provides critical information about preventing unintended pregnancy and disease. Responsible sex education programs that discuss both abstinence and contraception delay the onset of sexual intercourse, reduce the frequency of sex, increase contraceptive use, do not increase the number of sexual partners teens have and help protect teens from STIs, pregnancy and HIV. To learn more about the Healthy Youth Act, check out our fact sheets:
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| Anti-Choice Legislation: |
| Abortion Coverage Ban |
| Bill Number: |
SB 92/AB 154 [ view bill ] |
| Status: |
Introduced |
| Sponsor(s): |
Sen. Zipperer and Rep. Vos |
Anti-choice lawmakers want to prohibit all insurance coverage for abortion leaving women without the coverage currently offered in more than 85 percent of insurance plans.
The health care reform law already puts onerous restrictions on coverage of abortion care. But this would mean that even women who purchase their health care through the insurance exchange with their own money would not have access to abortion coverage.
Check out our Fact Sheet: Abortion Coverage in Danger in Wisconsin
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| Contraceptive Equity Repeal |
| Bill Number: |
Biennial Budget Bill |
| Status: |
Failed - Removed from Budget Bill by Join Finance Committee |
| Sponsor(s): |
Gov. Scott Walker |
| Take Action: |
Click here to take action. |
Scott Walker's biennial budget bill declares war on women's health care rights in Wisconsin. The bill contains a provision that repeals Wisconsin's Contraceptive Equity law, which was enacted in 2009. Contraceptive Equity requires all insurance policies that contain a prescription drug benefit to cover prescription contraceptives. Since birth control is a common and safe medication, excluding birth control coverage under prescription drug plans constitutes discrimination against women. These plans must include birth control as a matter of basic fairness. Since most Wisconsin residents get their health insurance through their employers, workplace equality demands that women have coverage for all the prescriptions they need, including birth control. Repealing this act would make it more difficult and more expensive for many women to access their prescribed medication. Repealing Contraceptive Equity would constitute a step backwards in protecting the reproductive rights of Wisconsin women. Why Oppose the Repeal of Contraceptive Equity Contraceptive Equity protects women from health insurance discrimination. A prescription so commonly used by women deserves a coverage mandate. Women pay more than men do for health care. Contraceptive Equity helps diminish this disparity. Birth control is common and safe. Failing to provide coverage has nothing to do with health and everything to do with limiting women's freedom. Birth control prevents unintended pregnancy, reducing the need for state support for pregnancy and childbirth costs. Repealing Contraceptive Equity would burden the state financially, despite Walker's claims to the contrary.
For more information, see our fact sheet on this issue. |
| Defunding Planned Parenthood |
| Bill Number: |
Biennial Budget Bill |
| Status: |
Passed as part of Biennial Budget Bill |
| Sponsor(s): |
Gov. Scott Walker |
| Take Action: |
Click here to take action. |
What does Planned Parenthood do? Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin has 27 health centers that offer a wide array of reproductive health services, including annual exams, birth control, pregnancy testing and counseling, HIV testing, STD testing and treatment, midlife services, abortion services, and more. Due to their policy of never turning anyone away because of inability to pay for services, Planned Parenthood provides affordable health care options to many low-income people across the state. All in all, Planned Parenthood serves over 77,000 women and men of all ages and income levels across Wisconsin with a variety of health care needs. How is Planned Parenthood funded? Only 55% of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin's budget comes from patient payments or insurance payments for services. They rely on funding they receive from individual donations and state funding to make up the rest of their budget, 24% of which comes from state and federal grants and 17% of which comes from individual contributions.1 Because the Hyde Amendment prevents government funding from paying for abortions, none of the government funding Planned Parenthood receives can be directly used to pay for abortion care. Why is Planned Parenthood being defunded? Wisconsin's anti-choice governor Scott Walker included a provision in the biennial budget bill that will eliminate state family planning funding, which provides funding to a number of health centers across Wisconsin, including Planned Parenthood. He wants to take this extreme measure not to save the state money, but because he opposes any organization that educates youth about sexuality, advocates for abortion rights, and provides standard reproductive health services such as birth control and emergency contraception. Anti-choice groups such as Wisconsin Right to Life and Catholics4Life have been clamoring for the state government to defund Planned Parenthood, and the current state government is sympathetic to these extremist groups. Who will suffer?Defunding Planned Parenthood would have an immeasurable detrimental effect on Wisconsin's low-income families. Planned Parenthood's commitment to offering low-cost or no-cost services to those who need them helps thousands of people across the state access health care that they would not be able to afford anywhere else. In addition, regardless of an individual's income level, Planned Parenthood provides a safe place for patients to discuss a wide array of health care concerns and reproductive health care options. This valuable resource is a necessity. Defunding Planned Parenthood is not only fiscally irresponsible, but it takes an important safe haven away from people who don't know where else to turn.
1 Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, www.ppwi.org |
| Honoring so-called "Crisis Pregnancy Centers" |
| Bill Number: |
SJR 28/AJR 34 [ view bill ] |
| Status: |
Passed in Senate; Introduced in Assembly |
| Sponsor(s): |
Sen. Kapanke and Rep. Jacque |
Unable to shut down legitimate women's centers, the anti-choice movement has built a network of fake clinics called “crisis pregnancy centers” (CPCs) that mislead women to convince them not to access abortion care. Now, extreme anti-choice politicians in Wisconsin have proposed a resolution to honor these centers throughout the month of October.
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