For Immediate Release:  April 25, 2007


Media Contact: Andrea Gage
414-213-3717 (cell)

 

Voices of Compassion Heard in the State Capitol

Senate Health Committee applauded for hearing testimony on bill that would ensure care for rape victims



Madison, WI- Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin (PPAWI) applauds the Senate Health Committee for holding a public hearing on the Compassionate Care for Rape Victims Bill, Senate Bill 129, and urges the committee to recommend the bill's passage. The bill will ensure that Wisconsin emergency rooms tell rape victims about emergency contraception and dispense it upon request.

 

Emergency contraception (EC) is a high concentration of birth control pills that prevents pregnancy if taken within 120 hours of an assault. EC is at least 89 percent effective when taken within 72 hours, making timely access critically important for victims of rape. American Medical Association guidelines promote rape victims' access to EC, but studies show it’s not happening consistently. A 2006 survey of 109 Wisconsin hospital emergency departments shows that only 1/3 of Wisconsin hospitals provide EC on site without exception to rape victims. Forty-two percent do not offer EC at all and another 23 percent offer it but have exceptions to their policy.

 

Roughly 100 people attended today's hearing. Survivors of sexual assault, health care providers, advocates and community members voiced their support for the passage of SB 129.

 

Linda Gage, a rape survivor, testified at today's hearing. Gage said emergency room doctors did not tell her about EC or offer the medication to her after her assault, and that the women of Wisconsin should not have to endure similar treatment.

 

"No one should put the burden on receiving comprehensive medical care on a rape survivor. The trauma from a rape is too great to expect survivors to know all the questions to ask in the emergency room," said Gage.

 

Rape survivor Amanda Harrington stated that women should not be forced to find EC on their own in the event of such a trauma.

 

"It sounds so simple to us now, but in the aftermath of sexual assault, every problem-solving compass is lost.  We cannot allow emergency room doctors to tell their patients to walk out of the ER and find EC on their own. If the debilitating fear that a rape victim experiences after an assault does not stop her, the practical problems associated with finding a pharmacy in time may prevent her from obtaining the medication," said Harrington.

 

"Rape victims should receive comprehensive, compassionate care in the emergency room, and that includes receiving information about and access to emergency contraception. This bill is a simply a way to make sure that what should happen, does happen," said PPAWI Public Policy Director Chris Taylor. "We owe it to rape survivors to make sure this bill becomes law."

                                                                                               

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Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin is the advocacy arm of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin (PPWI). The mission of PPWI is to empower all individuals to manage their sexual and reproductive health through direct services, education, and advocacy.  www.ppawi.org