Judith Davidoff
Wendi Kent chained herself to the banister outside of the Assembly chambers after the vote.
Shortly after the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Assembly approved a 20-week abortion ban, Democrats suggested the timing of the vote was suspect.
“Let’s be clear,” Rep. Katrina Shankland (D-Stevens Point) said at a news conference at the Capitol. “It’s no coincidence that on Monday the governor will be announcing he’s running for president.”
Shankland said Gov. Scott Walker is expected to travel to Las Vegas and Iowa shortly after his announcement to court primary voters. “This abortion ban is part of his campaign.”
She said that Wisconsin citizens were focused on the state budget, which passed the Assembly early Thursday morning, and not aware lawmakers would be quickly taking up the abortion ban. Shankland also noted that Speaker Robin Vos (R-Burlington) had told Democratic lawmakers that the bill would likely not come to the floor until September.
Vos’ office did not respond to a request for comment.
Abortion rights activist Wendi Kent chained herself to the banister outside of the Assembly chambers after the vote. She said she wanted lawmakers who supported the measure to come out to talk to her but none did. She said that the majority of citizens support a woman’s right access to abortion but that the Wisconsin Legislature is “no longer a democracy. It’s no longer a government that represents its people.”
The vote on the bill followed a couple of hours of emotional testimony from both supporters and opponents.
Rep. Joan Ballweg (R-Markesan) spoke of her own pregnancy struggles and argued that the bill was about protecting unborn life. “At what point in development does this baby feel pain?” she asked. “Ultimately, shouldn’t we be speaking about the unborn and their right to life?”
Supporters of the measure say a fetus can feel pain at 20 weeks, but no major medical organization supports that contention. Medical groups that oppose the ban include the Wisconsin Medical Society, the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians and the Wisconsin section of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Rep. Debra Kolste (D-Janesville) argued against the bill, saying that physicians practice the “art of medicine” by using their best medical judgment. “You’re taking the judgment out of their hands,” she told Republican lawmakers, charging the bill will have a “chilling effect” on doctors.
The bill, which has already been approved by the Senate, would make it a felony to perform abortions 20 weeks after fertilization. The only exception is when the life of the mother is in immediate danger. Doctors could be fined up to $10,000 and sentenced to up to 3½ years in prison for defying the law.
Walker in early June told reporters he would support a 20-week abortion. He had refused to say where he stood on the measure while running for reelection in 2014, but said in a TV ad he had signed other restrictions that left “the final decision to a woman and her doctor.”
Similar abortion bans are being challenged in other states. Democrats said the ban if signed by Walker could be challenged as well.