FACT SHEET
Women's Health
& Safety Act
Background
Wisconsin' criminal abortion law, passed in
1849, outlaws abortions throughout pregnancy and has severe penalties for both
doctors and women. Wis. Stat. § 940.04.
The only exception in the law is if a woman will die as a result of
continuing her pregnancy--and then, two physicians must certify that a woman's
life is in danger. There are no
exceptions for rape victims or women who have severe health complications, such
as dangerously high blood pressure, under the current law.
Physicians who provide abortions can go to prison for up
to 15 years under the law. Women can
serve up to 3 ½ years in jail for intentionally terminating a pregnancy. Since Roe
v. Wade (1973),
when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that government could not ban abortions, the
state has been prohibited from enforcing this criminal abortion statute. If Roe
v. Wade were
reversed, this severe law would immediately go into effect without further
debate by the people of Wisconsin or this legislature. Only 3 other states in the country still have
criminal abortion statutes.
The Women's Health & Safety Act simply repeals this
statute, finally striking its severe punishment from Wisconsin law. The bill does not affect other abortion
restrictions currently on the books. The
bill does not affect current Wisconsin law which prevents abortion after fetal viability
(typically between 23-24 weeks of gestation) unless a woman’s life or
health is threatened by continuing the pregnancy. The bill does not affect other restrictions
like the 24 hour waiting period, or the mandatory counseling, or parental
consent for minors. In fact, no other
abortion restrictions are impacted by this bill. The bill simply repeals a 157 year old law that
could send physicians and women to jail.
Criminal Abortion
Laws Threaten Women's Health and Lives
When the government criminalizes abortion, women with
unintended pregnancies are forced to turn to dangerous, illegal abortions. America's own history paints a vivid
picture: in the 1950s and 60s, there
were between 200,000 and 1.2 million illegal abortions in this country. Maternal death rates in the U.S. attributed to illegal abortions
were shockingly high, 18% of maternal deaths in 1930, and still 17% of maternal
deaths in 1965 were from illegal abortion.
Only the immediate impact of Roe
v. Wade curbed the deaths--in the first five years post-Roe maternal deaths dropped by 85%. Currently, abortion related deaths are a
rarity in our country.
Around the world, however, it is another story. Many countries continue to criminalize
abortion and women die as a result--about 70,000 women a year world wide. 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.) Another report estimates that nearly 75% of
the 500,000 pregnancy related deaths in the world could be prevented with
access to safe abortions. (International Federation of
Gynecology and Obstetrics, November 2006.)
Criminal Abortion
Laws Do Not Decrease the Number of Abortions
Criminalizing abortion does nothing to reduce the number
of abortions. Instead, women with unintended
pregnancies find dangerous and, in some cases, deadly abortion methods. For example, in Brazil, abortion is prohibited in almost
every circumstance. However, the country
still has one of the world’s highest abortion rates. The Brazilian Health Ministry recently
estimated that 31% of all pregnancies end in abortion, and almost all are
illegal and unsafe. Compare that rate to
the Netherlands, where abortion is safe and legal
and only 10% of pregnancies end in abortion.
The U.S., which over the last 15 years has
increasingly limited access to abortion services, has an abortion rate of about
is 25%. (Reuters News
Service, Jan. 2006.) The U.S. abortion rate has increased under
the policies of President Bush, especially for poor women, because access to
birth control internationally and domestically has been reduced through funding
cuts and more restrictive laws.
Prevent Abortion,
Don't Ban it
The key to preventing abortions is simple: prevent unintended pregnancies. We urge all of Wisconsin's law makers to focus on policy
measures that are successful in preventing unintended pregnancy. Independent, evidence based research repeatedly
demonstrates that greater access to birth control and sex education reduces
unintended pregnancies and abortion rates.
For example, a 2003 study from the Guttmacher Institute shows that only
8% of sexually active women using birth control pills will become pregnant in a
year; whereas 85% of sexually active women not using contraceptives will become
pregnant within a year. Criminalizing
abortion instead of providing health care options for women is short-sighted and
dangerous. Instead, we should all work
to increase the availability of the prevention based health care services.
The Wisconsin criminal abortion law is currently unenforceable, but it
may not be for long. The current
direction of the U. S. Supreme Court appears to be further undercutting the
protections of Roe v. Wade--which
prevent our severe law from being enforced.
This law will not stop abortions in the state and exists only to
threaten doctors and women with jail time or the unthinkable return to illegal,
back-alley abortions.
The Public Wants Abortion
to Remain Safe, Legal and Rare
A recent Wisconsin poll of 600 likely voters indicates that 75% of voters
oppose criminalizing abortion. Another
69% of voters support the repeal of Wisconsin’s archaic criminal abortion
statute. Wisconsinites overwhelmingly
oppose returning to the days of back alley abortions, when women died for
illegal, dangerous abortions.
Abortion is a
personal decision, not a criminal act. Please
support repealing Wisconsin's dangerous criminal abortion law and the Women's Health & Safety
Act.
This information
was compiled by Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin. For more
information about legislation related to reproductive health, or to join our
action alert network, log onto http://www.ppawi.org