Compassionate Care for Rape Victims Bill Passes Senate 27 to 6!
Overwhelming bipartisan support for measure to ensure rights of rape survivors
Madison, WI – The Wisconsin State Senate today passed landmark legislation guaranteeing that all rape victims in Wisconsin will be given information about and access to emergency contraception in hospital emergency rooms.
The Compassionate Care for Rape Victims Act (SB 129), authored by Senate Majority Leader and registered nurse Judy Robson, garnered widespread bipartisan support, passing with 27 votes and only 6 opposed.
Senators read moving testimony from rape survivors who urged support for the legislation; others focused on recent surveys revealing that two-thirds of Wisconsin’s hospitals are not consistently providing victims with the minimum standard of care recommended by the American Medical Association and other medical groups.
“Today is a great day for those who believe no rape victim should be denied basic treatment in any Wisconsin hospital,” said Kelda Helen Roys, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin. “Emergency contraception is a safe, effective way to help victims prevent pregnancy following sexual assault – sparing them the further trauma of an unwanted pregnancy.”
As a member of the Compassionate Care for Rape Victims Coalition, NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin has worked tirelessly to improve access to emergency contraception for sexual assault survivors, along with other groups like the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault. In support of this legislation, the organization has helped organize public education forums, testified at hearings around the state, collected thousands of petition signatures, conducted surveys of hospitals, organized grassroots activists statewide, and spent countless hours lobbying in the state capitol.
Only Pro-Life Wisconsin, an extremist lobbying group that opposes all birth control for women, registered in opposition to the bill.
The bill now heads to the State Assembly, where Republican and Democratic co-sponsors of the bill will work to pass it. Governor Jim Doyle has pledged to sign the bill if it reaches his desk.
Emergency contraception is a high dose of ordinary birth control pills that his highly effective at preventing pregnancy. It should be taken as soon as possible after unprotected sexual contact, but can be effective up to 120 hours after intercourse. If a woman is already pregnant, EC will not work; it does not affect a pregnancy. For more information about the bill, please visit our website: http://www.prochoicewisconsin.org/instate/billwatch.shtml#3
Contact: Kelda Helen Roys, (608) 213-4502
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