Assembly vote set on emergency contraception
by Judith Davidoff ¦ The Capital Times ¦ 7 December 2007 A bill that would require hospitals to provide emergency contraception to rape victims will get a vote in the state Assembly on Tuesday after months of waiting. The bill passed the Democrat-controlled state Senate in May, but the Republican-controlled Assembly stalled on debating it in committee and it was unclear whether it would get a vote by the full Assembly. "I'm happy we're going to get our day in court," Rep. Terry Musser, R-Black River Falls, the lead sponsor, said this morning. "It's been a long process." Musser said he and other bill supporters would move on Tuesday to remove an amendment that was tacked on to the bill by the Assembly Judiciary and Ethics Committee. The amendment would allow hospitals and health care providers to refuse to dispense emergency contraception, sold most often as Plan B, if it offends their religious beliefs. Musser, who says the amendment would defeat the purpose of the bill, said he has informally polled his colleagues and believes he has enough votes to either not adopt the amendment or to table it. Mike Murray, policy specialist for the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said he was "cautiously optimistic" the bill would pass in its original form. Also Tuesday, the Assembly will vote on a controversial bill deregulating the cable industry. The Assembly version of the bill is slightly different from the Senate's version but is expected to pass easily. Gov. Jim Doyle has been generally supportive of the legislation, although he has not yet said whether he would sign it.
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