Scott Walker Says Government Mandated Ultrasounds Are Cool; Brags about Efforts to Ban Abortion

WASHINGTON, DC -- Wisconsin governor and presidential hopeful Scott Walker bragged recently about his efforts to ban safe and legal abortion and went so far as to call laws that require a woman to have a government-mandated ultrasound before she can have an abortion a “cool thing.” Scott Walker has signed four bills to restrict access to safe and legal abortion as governor and has repeatedly said he would support a statewide 20-week ban when it hits his desk.

Statement from Cecile Richards, President, Planned Parenthood Action Fund:

"Women are very clear that forced government ultrasounds are not ‘cool.’ Forced ultrasounds are intrusive and invasive and they put politicians into medical exam rooms where they don't belong. Scott Walker's remarks are appalling, but the real problem is the record behind his words. As governor, Scott Walker has dismantled women's health care in Wisconsin, and as a result thousands of women have lost access to lifesaving cancer screenings, affordable birth control, and safe and legal abortion.

“Walker has repeatedly said he wants to ban abortion and he has signed into law four bills that restrict women’s access to safe and legal abortion. He has also blocked Planned Parenthood from receiving state funds to provide lifesaving cancer screenings and other health care to low-income women in Wisconsin, and would be in the position to do the same nationwide if he has the chance. As results of Walker’s policies, many women in Wisconsin are unable to get high-quality, affordable health care in their local communities.”

Broader Agenda: What’s happened in Wisconsin could happen in all 50 states if Scott Walker is elected president. Scott Walker has said he wants to ban abortion and has already passed four laws that threaten a woman’s ability to make her own health care decisions about her pregnancy, including laws that threaten doctors with felony charges for providing abortion, require physicians to have admitting privileges at a local hospital, and block women from getting private insurance coverage for abortion. Not only has Scott Walker made Wisconsin one of the most difficult states to access safe and legal abortion, he also ended Planned Parenthood’s 16-year contract with the state to provide breast and cervical cancer screenings under the state’s well-woman program and forced the closure of five rural Planned Parenthood health centers, resulting in the disruption and loss of over 18,800 health care services for approximately 3,100 patients including lifesaving cancer screenings, breast exams, birth control, well-woman exams, pregnancy tests, STD testing and treatment, HIV screening, and referrals to a network of community resources.