Wisconsin Right-to-LIe Act

What supporters of women's choice call the "Right to Lie" bill is one of three bills to limit women's reproductive rights that are all up for a public hearing today.

It has a nice ring to it. And it is descriptive of what the bill, SB-71, does: It allows health care providers to lie without having to worry about being penalized.

The Right to Lie Bill protects physicians who negligently withhold crucial medical information from pregnant women and their families, if the physician believes the woman might use the information to choose an abortion. This bill eliminates legal remedies that exist for patients under Wisconsin law.

Currently, if your doctor knows that your unborn child will have a disability but fails to tell you about it while abortion is still an option, the physician can be held responsible for medical expenses and costs related to the child's care. The Right to Lie bill would take away any obligation for the doctor to tell you anything, and absolve him/her of any liability after the child is born disabled.

The other two bills -- the anti-choice people hope all will pass in a trifecta later this month in the Senate -- are known by pro-choicers as the Family Planning Ban and the Teen Endangerment Bill.

The Family Planning Ban -- some prefer "Gag" Rule -- is SB 72, which would eliminate state funding for at least 53 family planning facilities in Wisconsin, including public health departments, and could impact as many as 127 facilities that provide family planning services. Under this bill, mentioning the word abortion in a counseling setting would disqualify family planning programs from receiving state funds. Those clinics serve more than 93,000 women annually by providing access to birth control, cancer screens and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment. Publicly funded family planning clinics often are the only health care available to these patients, including birth control services and supplies. This bill effectively bans birth control for many low-income women.

Last but not least, the Teen Endangerment Bill (SB 97) threatens a minor’s life and health by restricting access to abortion by the most vulnerable teens -- such as those who are abused, victims of incest or in foster care. The bill makes parental consent difficult or impossible for some parents by requiring notarized consent and a government-issued identification (sound familiar?). This bill does nothing to try to reduce the incidence of teen pregnancy. Rather, the Teen Endangerment Bill serves to isolate the pregnant teen from seeking assistance from trusted adults such as a relative, clergy member or psychologist.

It is probably futile to e-mail committee members, (There are probably no undecideds), but here is the list. More importantly, contact your own legislators before these bills hit the Senate floor, probably next week.

Senator Zien, chairperson http://www.legis.state.wi.us/senate/sen23/sen23.html
Senator Risser http://www.legis.state.wi.us/senate/sen26/sen26.html
Senator Roessler http://www.legis.state.wi.us/senate/sen18/sen18.html
Senator Grothman http://www.legis.state.wi.us/senate/sen20/sen20.html
Senator Taylor http://www.legis.state.wi.us/senate/sen04/sen04.html