WAWH Statement: Trump & Vos’ Political Game Dangerous for Wisconsin Women

MADISON – Wisconsin Alliance for Women's Health (WAWH) Executive Director, Sara Finger, released the following statement on February 7, 2019:
 
“Recently, and especially in the past 48 hours, we have witnessed a malicious disinformation campaign, advanced by anti-abortion activists who seek to make abortion illegal and stigmatize women and doctors. President Trump parroted blatant falsities about abortion care during his State of the Union address, using inflammatory language to score needed political points. Yesterday we saw Rep. Robin Vos and Assembly Republicans follow suit by staging a press conference in Madison to make their own inflammatory claims that are flat out false and offensive to women who face pregnancy complications. It’s important to remember that the people spreading this misinformation have one motive in mind -- to ban safe, legal abortion in this country.”
 
“While I don’t appreciate the artifice that was behind yesterday’s media stunt, I welcome this opportunity to talk reproductive rights and abortion laws in Wisconsin. Here in Wisconsin we have an archaic 1849 law on the books that criminalizes abortions. The U.S. Supreme Court is now controlled by an anti-abortion majority following the appointment of Justice Kavanaugh and the future of Roe v. Wade is uncertain. If Roe is overturned, then our 1800’s law kicks in, abortion becomes illegal in Wisconsin and doctors in Wisconsin could face jail time.”
 
“The Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health strongly supports a woman’s right to make her own health decisions. We will continue to work to ensure all women have access to healthcare and access to medically accurate information. We all deserve the rights, freedoms, and opportunities to control our lives at the most basic level: our bodies, our families, and our futures--and that requires the right and ability to have an abortion. It is disrespectful and dangerous that a body of mainly white male legislators without healthcare backgrounds believes they are entitled to dictate a woman’s personal healthcare decisions to score political points. Anti-abortion zealots will do anything to push their agenda to ban safe, legal abortion in this country — including making things up and making outlandish accusations that are not based in fact or medical science. These claims are horrifying and offensive.”
 
Facts:

• In 1849, Wisconsin made it a felony to have or provide an abortion. While that law became unenforceable after Roe v. Wade, Wisconsin never took its criminal abortion ban off the books. This law does not have exceptions for rape, incest, or the health of the mother.
• In 1973, the Roe v. Wade case declared the US Constitution protects the right to have an abortion.
• In 2016, in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, the Supreme Court added that while states can regulate abortion, those regulations have to benefit patient health more than they burden their access.
• Only 3 out of 131 Wisconsin state legislators have healthcare backgrounds and there are 95 men and 36 women in the State Legislature.