Wisconsin Women Issue Five Questions for McCain-Palin
Duo's record on reproductive rights far out of the mainstream
Green Bay, Wis. – Two noted Wisconsin women leaders, Nancy Nusbaum and Dr. Julie Fagan, issued a statement regarding anti-choice Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin's visit to Wisconsin tonight. "As Sen. John McCain and his vice presidential nominee, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, visit Wisconsin, we're watching as they try to sell the McCain-Palin ticket to moderate, independent-leaning women voters who will determine the outcome of this election. But keeping the 'moderate maverick' image is getting a lot harder, especially as these women hear about McCain's 22 votes against birth-control and his stalwart belief that Roe v. Wade should be overturned, as well as Gov. Palin's opposition to abortion, even in cases of rape and incest.
"Neither McCain nor Palin references their extreme stance on abortion, but voters have a right to know how the McCain-Palin agenda would open the door to more government interference in personal, private medical decisions in Wisconsin. Voters need to know that McCain is not only against abortion, he is against birth control and other prevention policies that would actually reduce the need for abortion. Even self-described "pro-life" voters see better access to birth control and honest, age-appropriate sex education as the best ways to prevent unintended pregnancy. [Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Health-Care poll, June 20, 2006] "McCain has a 25-year record of voting against women's freedom and privacy. Here are five questions that Sarah Palin should answer before any voter considers the McCain-Palin ticket in November:
"1. Gov. Palin, you would outlaw abortion, even in cases of rape and incest. In 2008, lawmakers in Wisconsin passed a bipartisan bill guaranteeing rape survivors information about and access to emergency contraception in the emergency room. Gov. Palin, do you support this bipartisan measure?
"2. Sen. McCain voted to end a program that provides millions of women with health-care services ranging from birth control to breast cancer screenings. This program served 93,000 Wisconsinites last year. Gov. Palin, do you agree with McCain's votes to completely eliminate the family-planning program?
"3. Sen. McCain has refused to support legislation to require pharmacists to fill women's birth control prescriptions without harassment or delay. Gov. Palin, do you think it's okay for a pharmacy to refuse to fill a woman's prescription for birth control based on an employee's personal views?
"4. John McCain twice voted against requiring insurance companies to cover birth control in the same way they pay for other prescription medication. When asked about his votes, McCain's inability to recall his record led to a notorious eight-second pause captured on tape. McCain was asked again in Racine, by a young, strong college student, and he told her that the decision to get access to birth control wasn't hers, but should be her employer's or her parents if they were paying for her health insurance. Gov. Palin, do you share Sen. McCain's feelings that women should not be able to insist that their health insurance cover birth control?
"5. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, 23 states are poised to ban abortion—and Wisconsin is one of them. Our state ban predates Roe and includes criminal penalties for women and doctors. Gov. Palin, why should women go to jail for having an abortion?" Nusbaum is a former Brown County Executive and former mayor of De Pere. From 2003-2005, she served as the Executive Director of the Wisconsin Department of Justice Office of Crime Victim Services. She serves on the board of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin. Dr. Fagan is a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin Women's Health Center. She serves on the hospital ethics committees for both the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Meriter Hospital in Madison.
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