Majority Leader Robson and Lt. Governor Lawton Introduce Protection for Rape Victims
Compassionate Care for Rape Victims ensures victims have access to emergency birth control
Madison, WI – Today, State Senate Majority Leader Judy Robson and Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton joined with the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin, and other victims’ rights advocates to introduce the Compassionate Care for Rape Victims bill.
The measure ensures that all Wisconsin emergency rooms provide information about and access to emergency birth control. The contraception, also known as Plan B or the “morning after pill,” is highly effective at preventing pregnancy and can be taken after sexual intercourse or assault.
“Every year, tens of thousands of American women become pregnant as a result of rape or incest,” said Kelda Helen-Roys, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin. “Every rape victim deserves the chance to prevent pregnancy – and this bill simply ensures that Wisconsin’s women will receive this standard of care recommended by the American Medical Association.”
Emergency birth control is simply a higher dose of ordinary birth control pills. It can prevent pregnancy, but if a woman is already pregnant it will have no effect. It should be taken as soon as possible after intercourse or assault and is most effective if taken within 12 hours, but it can be effective for up to 5 days.
Major medical groups including the AMA, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American College of Emergency Physicians, support providing emergency contraception to rape victims. Yet several statewide surveys, including one completed by NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin Foundation, have found that many Wisconsin hospitals do not even tell rape victims about emergency contraception.
NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin, a member of the Compassionate Care for Rape Victims Coalition, has been a leader in expanding access to emergency birth control in Wisconsin. The group developed the Provider Emergency Contraception Education Program, which has educated hundreds of health care providers about emergency contraception. In November, the Madison Common Council passed the organization’s landmark ordinance requiring pharmacies that do not stock emergency contraception to post a notice giving information about it and where to obtain it. For more information, visit www.prochoicewisconsin.org.
Contact: Kelda Helen Roys, 608-213-4502
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