Presidential Hopeful Scott Walker to Sign Fifth Anti-Abortion Law in Wisconsin, No Exceptions for Rape or Incest
For Immediate Release: July 9, 2015
Ignores Warnings/Opposition from Doctors and Leading Medical Groups Across the State
Washington, DC — Just days before his presidential announcement, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is expected to sign a dangerous and intrusive abortion ban, ignoring opposition from doctors and leading medical groups across the state. The ban, which Walker called for alongside extreme groups with the stated goal of banning abortion, marks the fifth abortion restriction that Walker will have signed into law as governor and is a stark reminder of the extreme agenda that he’d bring all the way to the White House if given the chance.
Walker specifically called for state lawmakers to send him a 20-week ban that does "not include exceptions for rape or incest." Already, 99 obstetrician-gynecologists in his home state of Wisconsin have come out against the ban. You can watch an ad from Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin featuring a real woman's story about the impact that this ban would have HERE.
Follow the conversation about Scott Walker and the race to the bottom on women’s health in the 2016 presidential primary using the hashtag #notmycandidate.
Statement from Cecile Richards, President, Planned Parenthood Action Fund:
"This dangerous bill is about one thing — Scott Walker's presidential bid. It's a clear appeal to the far right of the Republican party — one that stands to harm the women of Wisconsin in the process. Doctors across Wisconsin have been calling on lawmakers to reject this bill, noting language that specifically puts women's health at risk. Scott Walker is callously trading women's health for a few more votes, and yet again, women in Wisconsin have to pay the price.
"We know these are losing issues for candidates. In the 2012 election, we saw a clear contrast on women's health — and we saw Mitt Romney lose by the biggest gender gap in history. At the end of the day there are no winners in Scott Walker’s race to the bottom on women’s health.”
The bill passed the Wisconsin State Assembly today and seeks to ban abortion at 20 weeks. Abortions at 20 weeks are very rare and often happen under complex circumstances. The 99 Wisconsin doctors wrote Walker last week stating, “This is bad medicine, based on the thoroughly debunked fallacy that a 20-week fetus – which is not viable – can feel pain. SB 179/AB 237 would block Wisconsin ob-gyns from being able to treat our patients in a medically appropriate and humane manner.”
A solid 60 percent of voters oppose 20-week bans when they understand the real-world impact these laws would have. Doctors oppose these laws because they prevent them from giving their patients the best health care possible in an individual situation.
Scott Walker’s record of attempts to ban abortion outright:
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Scott Walker has said he wants to ban abortion even in cases of rape and incest and has already signed four laws that threaten a woman’s ability to make her own health care decisions about her pregnancy, and signing the 20-week abortion ban will make it five — which he specifically insisted NOT include exceptions for rape or incest.
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Walker supports extreme and dangerous “personhood” legislation. Walker has said that he would back so called “personhood” legislation, which would ban access to safe and legal abortion and could interfere with personal, private medical decisions relating to birth control, access to fertility treatment, and management of a miscarriage. These measures are so extreme that voters have overwhelmingly rejected them, including most recently in Colorado and North Dakota. [The New York Times, 2/22/15]
In Scott Walker’s own words:
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"In my past four years as governor, we have made substantial progress in the fight for our pro-life values in Wisconsin. We defunded Planned Parenthood. We prohibited abortion from being covered by health plans in a health exchange." [Scott Walker Open Letter on Life, 3/3/15]
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When criticized by conservatives for his ad that ran weeks before Walker’s re-election campaign in 2014 in which Walker appeared more moderate on the issue of abortion, Walker said that his views have remained the same on abortion: “I’m pro-life. My position is consistent on that. They’re taking an ad out there that talked about what the law did in the state which was endorsed by Wisconsin Right to Life, so it’s a pro-life law.” [fox6now.com, 3/15/15]
- “I am pro-life like most Republican governors are pro-life. I don’t apologize for that…” [Christian Science Monitor, 11/22/13]
About Planned Parenthood Action Fund:
Planned Parenthood affiliates provide health care to 2.7 million patients every year — including lifesaving cancer screenings, preventive health care, birth control, and abortion services. Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading women’s health provider and advocate. Planned Parenthood Action Fund works to ensure that people continue to have access to those health care and education services — by advocating for laws and policies that protect women’s health, and educating voters about how candidates’ positions would affect women’s health.
If you have any questions, please contact the Planned Parenthood Action Fund media line at [email protected].