Bill for rape victims expected to pass: It obliges hospitals to give emergency contraception
by Stacy Forster ¦ The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ¦ 1 December 2007 Supporters of a bill that would require hospitals to dispense emergency contraception for sexual assault victims said they have enough votes to adopt the bill in the Assembly this month. But they are still facing a challenge from those who oppose the measure and say hospitals shouldn't be forced into such a mandate. "The basic argument comes down to, are you going to be on the side of the assault victim or are you going to side with the hospital?" said Rep. Terry Musser (R-Black River Falls), one of the bill's sponsors. "All we have to do is get it up there for a vote and let people's conscience be a guide." That conscience is an issue for some, including groups such as Pro-Life Wisconsin, which object to both the drug and the mandate. "Somebody in the ER at 3 in the morning has to dispense this, and it's going to come back to the individual worker" who might object to the drug, said Matt Sande, director of legislative affairs for Pro-Life Wisconsin. "There could be a hospital. . . that wants to refrain from dispensing this on moral or religious grounds." An Assembly committee approved an amendment that would exempt hospitals on moral or religious grounds if complying is contrary to the facility's policy, saying it was important to provide them some protection. Hospitals would not be liable for civil damages if they refused to comply for moral or religious reasons. Backers of the measure said that would gut the bill, adding they will move to remove the amendment and have a vote on the bill as it was originally written. The bill has not been scheduled for a vote, but it is among the bills being considered for action when the Assembly meets on Dec. 11, said Jim Bender, a spokesman for Majority Leader Jeff Fitzgerald (R-Horicon). It passed the Senate this year on a 27-6 vote. Approval by the Assembly, which Republicans control with 52-47 majority, would send it to Gov. Jim Doyle, who has said he would sign it. Emergency contraception, sometimes known as the morning-after pill or by the brand name Plan B, is a higher dose of regular hormonal contraceptives. Taking it within the first 72 hours after having unprotected sex can reduce the chances of pregnancy. It is not RU-486, the drug that induces abortions. Similar legislation has stalled in previous legislative sessions because of objections from abortion opponents, who say the drug's effect is to cause a chemical abortion. Supporters of access to emergency contraception said it doesn't affect an established pregnancy. Momentum to pass the bill has built this session, in part because of strong bipartisan support for the bill out of the Democratic Senate, said Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison), a co-sponsor of the measure. The bill would require hospitals to provide sexual assault victims with oral and written information about emergency contraception, let them know they have the option of receiving it and provide it to them immediately upon request. Hospitals would not be required to dispense the drug if the victim is pregnant, as confirmed by a pregnancy test. Similar law elsewhereEleven states have similar requirements, according to Pocan's office. Backers of the bill said it's necessary for Wisconsin to provide sexual assault victims with a basic standard of care, and that emergency contraception isn't widely available in Wisconsin hospitals. Debbie Donovan, a nurse at the Aurora Health Care Sexual Assault Treatment Center in Milwaukee, said providing emergency contraception has long been the practice at the center. Victims need help understanding the various decisions to be made in the traumatic hours after an assault, she said. "No one expects to be sexually assaulted. We don't prepare for that," Donovan said. "That rape wasn't a choice." But some medical providers have told lawmakers they object to a mandate from the state that they provide a drug to which they morally object. In a letter to lawmakers, the Wisconsin Guildsof the Catholic Medical Association said they support a woman's right to prevent conception after rape but "oppose the use, even in cases of sexual assault, of emergency 'contraception' to prevent an embryo from implanting in the uterus. "The law will mandate the use of medication that actually causes early abortions by preventing embryos from implanting on the wall of the uterus," representatives of the Guilds wrote. Supporters said the bill is written so that hospitals have a policy for providing the drug, but that nurses and doctors can still opt out of dispensing it themselves. "It's fine if there are individual health care providers who don't want to provide this as an individual so long as the hospital has protocol in place if someone requests it," said Mike Murray, policy specialist for the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
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