'Compassionate Care' bill hits Assembly road bump
by Beth Mueller ¦ The Badger Herald ¦ 12 December 2007 A bill requiring doctors to provide emergency contraception to victims of rape stopped one step short of Gov. Jim Doyle’s desk late Tuesday night. If passed, the legislation would require a hospital to provide a rape victim with information about emergency contraception, to inform her of the option to receive the contraception and to provide it immediately if she requests it. The Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault calls the bill “Compassionate Care for Rape Victims,” while Pro-Life Wisconsin dubs it the “Chemical Abortion Hospital Mandate.” Rep. Terry Musser, R-Black River Falls, and Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, introduced the legislation among others in the Assembly. The bill also stipulates that “no hospital must provide emergency contraception to a victim who is pregnant, as indicated by a test for pregnancy.” Debate on the legislation lasted well into the night, but a final vote was stalled until the Legislature’s next meeting — Jan 15, 2008. However, the substitute amendment — essentially confirming the original bill’s objectives, passed the Republican-controlled Assembly in a 56-41 vote. “The bill won’t fully pass [Tuesday], but it’s clear there are and will be enough votes to pass it the next time we meet,” said Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford. In the course of the debate, Republican representatives attempted to attach a few amendments to the original bill, including one that would make an exception for hospitals and hospital employees who have religious or moral objections to the use of emergency contraception. Matt Sande, legislative director for Pro-Life Wisconsin, said the amendment would defend conscience rights of doctors and organizations, or the right to refrain from administering treatment that violates religious or moral beliefs. “Legislators can’t pick and choose which conscience rights to uphold and protect,” Sande said. “These conscience rights are expressly protected in our Wisconsin Constitution; the bill is patently unconstitutional.” Sande also called the bill “bad medicine” because it forces a doctor to “dispense a powerful drug upon a patient’s request — immediately upon her request” without checks for whether the medicine will produce any negative reactions within the patient, due to issues like pre-existing conditions. In a previous interview with The Badger Herald, Julie Laundrie, spokesperson for Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, said Erpenbach supports the bill because he “believes victims of rape should be treated respectfully and have all the information about their options for them to make informed decisions after they have been victim of a crime.” Another amendment shot down at the Capitol Tuesday would have allowed doctors to dispense emergency contraception to victims younger than 16 years old “only if the hospital first makes a reasonable attempt to notify one of the victim’s parents.” Both the Assembly and Senate started their special session Tuesday as requested by Doyle Nov. 30, but neither house addressed any legislation during the sessions regarding public funding of Wisconsin Supreme Court elections or any of Doyle’s other requested initiatives. One step closer to “Wisconsin Christmas Tree” In a vote of 84-12, the Assembly also approved a bill introduced by Rep. Marlin Schneider, D-Wisconsin Rapids, to rename the Capitol’s Holiday Tree a “Christmas Tree.” The Senate did not vote on the joint resolution, as Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Weston, told The Associated Press the bill will never be brought up in the Senate.
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