Pro-Choice Wisconsinites Deserve Answers on Contraception
NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin Asks Gubernatorial Candidates to Clarify Birth Control Positions
Madison, WI – NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin sent the attached letter to the three declared candidates for Governor today, asking them to clarify whether they believe contraception is a form of abortion, contrary to medical science. The state’s leading anti-choice, anti-birth control interest group frequently and erroneously asserts that birth control can constitute abortion.
In an August 1, 2005 article in The Capital Times, Pro-Life Wisconsin’s lobbyist, Matt Sande was quoted as follows:
‘By outlawing contraception, you're closer to outlawing surgical abortion[...] We’re trying to overturn Roe v. Wade, but the court is pointing us over here [to contraception],’ he adds. Those who don’t turn their attention to trying to outlaw contraception at this point, Sande says, hurt the anti-abortion cause.
“Birth control is basic health care – and the men and women of Wisconsin deserve to know where the candidates stand on this issue of fundamental importance,” said Kelda Helen Roys, Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin. “With anti-choice groups being so blatant about their desire to criminalize birth control, it is reasonable to ask whether the politicians supported by these groups subscribe to the same erroneous beliefs and goals.”
Of the three candidates, only Governor Jim Doyle has repeatedly voiced his support for access to contraception, and has vetoed bills which threaten to undermine access to birth control and health care. As then-state legislators, the other two candidates, County Executive Scott Walker and Congressmember Mark Green, co-authored legislation to allow health care providers to withhold information, medicine, and treatment – including birth control – based on the providers’ personal beliefs and regardless of the risk to the patient.
Over 95 percent of American women use contraception at some point in their lives, without which they would average 12-15 pregnancies. Unplanned pregnancies carry significant and long-lasting adverse consequences for parents and children, from increased infant mortality to limited economic and academic potential. Access to birth control is also key to reducing the need for abortion.
The full Capital Times article is available here: http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/index.php?ntid=48928&ntpid=0
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August 4, 2005
To: Governor Jim Doyle
Congressmember Mark Green
County Executive Scott Walker
Dear Candidate for Governor:
As you have declared your candidacy for governor of the state of Wisconsin, NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin respectfully requests you to clarify your position on an issue of critical importance to men and women throughout the state. This request is especially pressing in light of recent comments by the state’s leading anti-choice group indicating its intention to pass legislation limiting access to contraception, which, contrary to medical science, it believes is a form of abortion:
‘By outlawing contraception, you're closer to outlawing surgical abortion[...] We’re trying to overturn Roe v. Wade, but the court is pointing us over here [to contraception],’ he adds. Those who don’t turn their attention to trying to outlaw contraception at this point, Sande says, hurt the anti-abortion cause.
-The Capital Times, August 1, 2005, quoting Matt Sande, lobbyist for Pro-Life Wisconsin
NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin’s statewide membership is deeply concerned about this unprecedented effort to intrude upon the private lives of Wisconsin citizens. The lurid desire of those at the helm of the anti-choice movement to invade the bedrooms of adults is deeply offensive to our fundamental freedoms.
We are aware of actions you have taken regarding access to contraception and want to provide our members with an accurate representation of your position. With Wisconsinites’ freedom to access birth control at stake, we think it is appropriate to ask this of any candidate for the state’s highest office.
According to the Legislative Reference Bureau, as then-members of the Wisconsin State Assembly, County Executive Scott Walker and Congressmember Mark Green co-authored an early version of the “Patient Abandonment Bill,” which would allow health care providers to deny patients critical information, medicine and treatment – including contraception – based on the providers’ personal ideology and regardless of the health care risk to the patient. (1997Assembly Bill 935)
In contrast, Governor Jim Doyle vetoed a similar version of this legislation in 2004. In addition, the Governor has indicated he will veto current legislation allowing pharmacists to deny women their birth control should it receive Senate Approval. (2005Assembly Bill 285)
With Wisconsin’s anti-choice policymakers targeting contraception for criminalization, we respectfully ask you to answer the following questions so the people of Wisconsin have a clear picture of your position:
Do you consider contraception that prevents ovulation, fertilization, or implantation (such as ordinary birth control pills, the Patch, the morning-after pill, IUD, etc.) to be a form of abortion?
Given the urgency of the issue, we would ask you to provide us with a response as soon as your schedule permits, and we welcome any comments you might have. Elections are about choices, and NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin is committed to providing our members with accurate information about officeholders and candidates for political office. Your assistance in this effort is greatly appreciated.
Very truly yours,
Kelda Helen Roys
Executive Director
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