November 9, 2011

Personhood Amendment Active in Wisconsin Legislature Under Extreme Ideological Majority

“This was just another example of how far opponents of women’s health are willing to go to end access to essential reproductive health care,” said Tanya Atkinson Executive Director of PPAWI. “Like the effort in Mississippi, here in Wisconsin we  have seen  the majority party pursue policies that give government control over personal decisions that should be left up to a woman, her family, her doctor and her faith.”

Like in Mississippi, the personhood measure here in Wisconsin proposes to extend full legal rights the moment an egg is fertilized. The measures are being pushed by a narrow minority in a backdoor attempt to achieve their overall goal of banning access to essential reproductive health care from birth control to safe and legal abortion.

The GOP leadership in Wisconsin has been following the same playbook as radical groups across the country by rushing through several pieces of anti-women’s health bills. This flurry of anti-women’s health bills are being advanced on the heels of news reports that Wisconsin lost more jobs for the third consecutive month and during a ‘special’ legislative session supposedly focused on jobs creation.

The full list of proposals included:

• Proposed cuts to BadgerCare to eliminate health insurance coverage for 52,000
• SB 237 –Repeal of the Healthy Youth Act
• SB 92 –A ban on insurance coverage of abortion
• LRB 2284 – Ban on Well Woman Funds for non-profit health care providers like Planned Parenthood
• AJR 34 – Assembly vote to honor crisis pregnancy centers
• LRB 2859/1 Constitutional Amendment to Establish Personhood outlawing aborting, IVF and birth control

“This complete attack on Women’s health during a time of economic crisis is deplorable and out of touch with what the citizens of Wisconsin believe,” said Atkinson. “It is so extreme- they could not even get it passed in Mississippi. We call on the voters of Wisconsin to take notice of what is happening both in our state and across the nation and to stand with us in our efforts to protect access to essential health care services.”