Life

Wisconsin Family Action’s 2017 Legislative Priorities for LIFE:

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= LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY

 

  • yellow squareBanning sale and/or use of body parts or tissue of aborted babies. (Renumbering and amending Wis. Stat. 345 (1) (a);amending 146.345 (title); and
    creating 146.345 (1) (ag) and 146.345 (2m) of the statutes; all of which relates to the sale
    and use of fetal body parts and providing a criminal penalty.

    • Placing a high value on the worth of human beings should be a hallmark of Wisconsin. Allowing the sale and/or use of the body parts/tissue of aborted babies works against this desirable quality.
    • Evidence shows the body parts/tissue of aborted babies has been and could well still be being produced, procured and used in Wisconsin.
    • Both sale and use need to be banned. If an aborted baby is worth not selling, then surely he/she is worth not using.
    • Recently released congressional reports corroborate the need for this law—and even point out that no treatments or cures have come from research done on fetal body parts or tissues but rather astounding treatments and cures have come from research done on highly ethical research on adult stem cells, cord blood, etc.
    • The bill should deal with proper disposition of the remains of aborted babies.
  • Banning abortion coverage in state employee health insurance plans. (Renumbering Wis. Stat. 40.02 (1); amending 40.03 (6)(b) and 632.895 (17)(b); creating 40.02 (1d), 40.03 (6)(k), 40.56 and 632.895 (17) (e), relating to prohibiting the group insurance board from contracting for or providing abortion services and exempting not-for-profit religious institutions, religious organizations, and religious institutions of higher education from contraceptive insurance coverage.
    • A bill signed into law in 2011 opts the state out of abortion coverage in health insurance exchanges. If private citizens cannot access abortion coverage in the state health exchange, the public employees should also not be able to access abortion coverage in state health plans.
  • The religious exemption requested mirrors the federal exemption for religious entities under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
  • Reporting related to induced abortions. (Amending Wis. Stat. 69.186)
    • In addition to the information currently required in induced abortion reporting, the state should also require the reporting of
      • The gender of the aborted child.
      • Whether or not the child had a fetal anomaly and the nature of that anomaly.
    • Requiring this information helps the state know with empirical data whether or not we have sex-selective abortion taking place and how many babies are being aborted because they have birth defects.