For Immediate Release:

December 21, 2007

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

Legislators Urged to Support The Women’s Health and Safety Act
Measure Repeals Criminal Abortion Law that Would Put Women and Doctors Behind Bars

Madison, WI- Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin (PPAWI) 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.

Wisconsin’s criminal abortion law, Wis. Stat. § 940.04, outlaws abortions throughout pregnancy and has severe penalties for both doctors and women. Women can serve up to 3 ½ years in jail for intentionally terminating a pregnancy, and physicians who provide abortions can go to prison for up to 15 years under the law. 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. If Roe v. Wade were reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court—a distinct possibility given the current composition of the court—this severe law would immediately go into effect without further debate by the people of Wisconsin or the Legislature. Wisconsin would be one of four states where abortion would immediately be outlawed.

“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 law,” said PPAWI Public Policy Director Chris Taylor.

The state has been prohibited from enforcing this criminal abortion statute since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade (1973) that government could not ban abortions. While the Wisconsin criminal abortion law is currently unenforceable, it may not be for long.

“The outdated criminal law that remains on the books, or any efforts to create a similar statute, will not stop abortions in the state. These draconian measures exist only to threaten doctors and women with jail time, taking us back to the dark era of illegal, back-alley abortions,” said Taylor.

Statistics show that criminalizing abortion does nothing to reduce the number of abortions. Roughly 70,000 women a year die worldwide as a result of illegal abortions. Further, a recent statewide poll of 600 likely Wisconsin voters indicated that 75 percent of voters opposed criminalizing abortion and 69 percent supported the repeal of the current criminal statute.

“Instead of passing new laws or enforcing old ones that criminalize abortion, we must focus on ways to reduce unintended pregnancies, such as passing measures like the Compassionate Care for Rape Victims Bill. We urge all of Wisconsin’s lawmakers to cosponsor The Women’s Health & Safety Act to repeal Wis. Stat. § 940.04 once and for all, and focus on policy measures that provide women and families with access to birth control and responsible sex education,” said Taylor.

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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