| Women's Health & Safety Act |
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Abortion is a personal decision that should be made by a woman and her doctor, not a criminal act. Women should not have to put their health and lives at risk for fear of going to jail under this outdated law still on the books from 1849.
Instead of passing new laws or enforcing old ones that criminalize abortion, we must focus on ways to reduce unintended pregnancies. |
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 | Bill Status:
Introduced in Senate and Assembly
Senate Committee Hearing - 2/28/08 |
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| Legislators Urged to Support The Women’s Health and Safety Act | | Measure Repeals Criminal Abortion Law that Would Put Women and Doctors Behind Bars
Planned Parenthood praises Representative Terese Berceau (D-Madison) and Senator Mark Miller (D-Monona) for circulating for cosponsorship The Women's Health & Safety Act, a bill that would repeal Wisconsin's 1849 criminal abortion statute which remains on the books. This 158-year-old law is so extreme that it imposes jail time on women who obtain an abortion, even those who are victims of sexual assault or who are experiencing serious health problems. The repeal is more needed than ever, now that anti-women's health care extremists are currently circulating yet another abortion procedures ban in Wisconsin. |
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| The Time for Change is Now: Women’s Health and Safety Act Launched | | January 22, 2008 - With anti-choice lawmakers and special interest groups working every day to make abortion illegal in Wisconsin and nationwide, champions of women’s health and safety are marking the 35th Roe anniversary with a call to repeal Wisconsin’s antiquated criminal abortion statute.
Sen. Mark Miller and Rep. Terese Berceau introduced the Women’s Health and Safety Act today at the State Capitol to remove the 158-year-old criminal abortion statute (Wis. Stat. Sec. 940.04) from the Wisconsin books. The criminal abortion statute outlaws abortion and provides criminal penalties for women and physicians that would be enforced immediately if Roe v. Wade were to be reversed -- a very real threat given the current composition of the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Everyone should support getting this statute off the books. We should never go back to the time when women died of infection and hemorrhaging because they couldn’t obtain a legal, safe abortion," said Rep. Berceau.
If the criminal abortion statute is not taken off the books, rape and incest victims could end up behind bars for choosing to terminate a pregnancy that resulted from an assault.
“It is unimaginable to think that a rape victim who chose to have an abortion after being brutally attacked could be thrown in jail under our current statute,” said Linda, a rape survivor who spoke at a news conference this morning. “These women are your mothers, your sisters, your daughters. Your friends. They are not, and should not, be treated as criminals.”
“To the individuals who are working to criminalize abortion in Wisconsin, I ask, how much time should she do? How much would you punish our mothers, sisters and daughters?” asked Berceau. |
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| PPAWI Urges Passage of Women’s Health and Safety Act | | Wisconsin is one of only four states maintaining a pre-Roe v. Wade (1973) criminal abortion statute on its books, and the only state in the country whose criminal ban statute contains criminal penalties for both women and physicians. Under the law, physicians charged could be jailed up to 15 years and fined up to $50,000. Women charged could be jailed up to 3 ˝ years and fined up to $10,000. The statute would be enforced immediately if Roe v. Wade were to be reversed -- a very real threat given the current composition of the U.S. Supreme Court.
What we know at Planned Parenthood and what we see around the world is that when abortion is illegal, women continue to have abortions, but they are unsafe. The result is that women die. We must not allow that to happen in our state.
According to the World Health Organization, unsafe abortion is one of the most easily preventable and treatable causes of maternal mortality. (WHO, Address Unsafe Abortions, 1998). There are an estimated 19 million illegal, unsafe abortions every year. About 5.2 million of these women are hospitalized for serious complications. 13 percent of all maternal deaths are attributed to illegal abortion. And you can look at any country in the world where abortion is illegal and maternal mortality rates are through the roof.
· In Peru, about 350,000 illegal abortions occur every year resulting in one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the region (about 240 deaths for every 100,000 live births—the U.S. maternal mortality, for comparison, is currently 7.5 deaths for every 100,000 live births).
· In Kenya, about 300,000 illegal abortions occur each year with official statistics estimating that they cause 30-50% of all maternal deaths in the country.
We know the dire health consequences for women when abortion is illegal. For the sake of the health and lives of Wisconsin women, this statute must be repealed. |
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