|  | | | AB 427 is an abuse of time and a waste of taxpayer money. Wisconsin's current "informed and voluntary" consent law details (in 19 paragraphs) exactly what a woman must be told prior to an abortion and the extensive materials she must receive about options and resources available to her.
Comparison with Current Law |
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| Bill Status:
Introduced in Senate
Passed 65-32 in Assembly 10/30/07 |
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| Where Are the Assembly's Priorities?
While Compassionate Care for Rape Victims waits for a vote, the Assembly was quick to schedule a vote on Assembly Bill 427, an unnecessary bill pushed by State Representative Mark Gundrum (R-New Berlin) and Wisconsin Right to Life that is already law in Wisconsin. Current Wisconsin law already prohibits a physician from providing an abortion unless the woman has given voluntary and informed consent, free from coercion. Yet, AB 427 seeks to outlaw coercion for women seeking abortion again and requires physicians to provide patients at risk for domestic abuse with victim's services information, which is already a component of current law.
"It is a shame the Assembly wastes time debating a bill that accomplishes nothing, while rape survivors and health care advocates have had to work for seven years to pass a bill in the Assembly to improve informed consent for rape victims to no avail," said PPAWI Vice President of Public Affairs Lisa Boyce. "Giving rape victims information about all of their treatment options, including information about and access to birth control to prevent pregnancy following assault, should be a priority."
Gundrum, the author of AB 427, apparently does not feel rape victims are entitled to the same degree of informed consent as women seeking abortion. This summer, Gundrum amended the Compassionate Care for Rape Victims Bill (AB 377) to make informed consent optional for hospitals treating victims of rape.
If Representative Gundrum were serious about enhancing informed consent provisions for women seeking reproductive care, he would make Compassionate Care for Rape Victims a priority and would not have moved to make informed consent for rape victims optional.
PPAWI encourages constituents to call their state representatives to urge them to support informed consent for rape victims and to pass AB 377 in the Assembly without amendment. |
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