Legislative Committee Votes Expected Today on Two Bills Crafted to Hinder Access to Reproductive Health Care
The Senate Health Committee is expected to vote today on Assembly Bill 67, a measure that denies women the right to demand complete and honest information from their health care providers.
“NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin urges the Senate Health Committee to reject AB 67. We ask Committee members to prioritize the rights of patients to safe, comprehensive health care over extreme right-wing ideology,” said Courtney Emery, a NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin spokesperson.
AB 67 permits medical professionals to refuse to provide or discuss a wide range of reproductive health care services, even medically urgent services, based solely on religious or political ideology. The bill grants health care providers immunity from any civil, criminal or disciplinary liability and does not require that providers offer referrals or notify patients in advance of those services they do not perform or discuss.
In addition, the Assembly Judiciary Committee is expected to vote today on Assembly Bill 635, a measure that further hinders younger women’s access to abortion.
Current law recognizes that the state cannot ensure successful parent-child relationships and so permits close adult relatives and foster parents to give consent for younger women seeking abortions when parents are unavailable or unapproachable. “NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin urges the Assembly Judiciary Committee to reject AB 635, a measure effectively eliminating abortion access for younger women whose parents are not available and approachable,” said Emery.
AB 635 forbids close adult relatives, not parents or legal guardians, and foster parents from granting consent. The bill also eliminates a clergy member’s ability to petition a court for judicial bypass on behalf of younger woman and eliminates a physician’s ability to determine that a medical emergency necessitating abortion exists.
“These measures would compromise the health and well-being of people in our state, prioritize political ideology over health care, and they are emblematic of the ongoing attacks on women’s health care in our Legislature this year,” said Emery.
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