Uppity Wisconsin

My name is Julianne Bukey. I'm a senior at Scripps College, and I'm working for the summer at NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin.  You may have seen this video of me asking John McCain a question about insurance coverage for birth control at a McCain Town Hall meeting in Racine, Wisconsin on Thursday, July 31, 2008.

Once again, Sen. McCain demonstrated how out of touch he is when it comes to insurance coverage for basic health care. Recently, a reporter had asked him about this subject, and he didn't have any policy other than supporting no action. In a news story on CNN that followed, his campaign is quoted as saying insurance coverage of contraception should be "up to the individual." I read that to mean that he believes that if an individual wants coverage, she should be able to choose it. Wait a minute - that's what we want! But McCain has voted against legislation to ensure insurance companies cover birth control the same way they coer other prescription medications.

It is no secret that anti-choice groups have long used radical tactics to oppose abortion.  This year, we saw young children outfitted in "I survived the American Holocaust" tee shirts in legislative hearings in the Wisconsin capitol. Last July, we watched in horror as a group of "pro-lifers" staged, in front of a Milwaukee abortion clinic, a celebratory reenactment of the murder of a Florida abortion provider and his escort by Paul Hill. In short, their campaigns and demonstrations have grown increasingly extreme and more inappropriate as of late.  

After passing through both branches of the state government, the Compassionate Care for Rape Victims Bill is expected to be signed into law by Governor Jim Doyle.  This law will require emergency room personnel to give information about emergency contraception to all victims of sexual assault, and dispense it if desired.  Emergency contraception greatly reduces the risk of unintended pregnancy, thereby reducing the need for abortion.  It is legal, safe, and available for over the counter purchase for women over 18. However, in a survey from 2002, it was found that less than 1/3 of Wisconsin hospitals had this contraception stocked. 

     In 2002, a survey found that 300,000 women were raped each year, resulting in 25,000 unwanted pregnancies.  16,000 of these unintended pregnancies ended in abortion. With the effectiveness of emergency contraception, 22,000 (88%) of the pregnancies and the resulting abortions could be prevented if all sexual assault survivors used emergency contraception.

On Wednesday, February 27th, the Senate Health Committee heard testimony on SB 398, the Women's Health and Safety Act. The bill seeks to repeal Wisconsin statute 940.04 (Wisconsin's Criminal Abortion Ban), which, if Roe v. Wade is overturned, would outlaw nearly all forms of abortion in Wisconsin. Moreover, the law includes a penalty of up to 15 years in prison for doctors who perform an abortion and a woman could receive up to 3.5 years in prison for having an abortion or performing an abortion on herself. The law is currently unenforceable as the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wade legalized abortions in all fifty states 35 years ago. However, if Roe fell, Wisconsin's Criminal Abortion Ban would immediately go into effect; local district attorneys could prosecute both women and doctors involved in the now-illegal procedure.