The Republican-controlled Wisconsin legislature on Thursday passed a controversial bill that would ban women from seeking non-emergency abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions for rape or incest.
The Wisconsin assembly passed the bill 61 to 34 after two hours of emotional testimony from lawmakers on both sides of the debate. The state senate had approved the legislation in June.
The bill now goes to Governor Scott Walker. Eager to burnish his conservative credentials ahead of his anticipated campaign for president, Walker specifically asked the legislature to send him the bill and has said repeatedly that he will sign it.
Wisconsin is the 15th state to pass a bill prohibiting abortion at 20 weeks or earlier. The bans are rooted in the belief that fetuses can feel pain at 20 weeks, a claim that has been disputed by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Opponents of the Wisconsin bill argued that the choice to seek an abortion should be between a woman and her doctor, and implored Republicans to stop interfering with women’s reproductive rights.
During the floor debate, one Democratic representative accused Republicans of playing politics with women’s rights in order to help Walker appeal to social conservatives in the 2016 Republican primaries.
“You’re playing with women’s uteruses for political reasons and the governor is the worst offender,” said Terese Berceau.
Another Democrat read the text of one of Walker’s 2014 campaign re-election ads, in which the governor appeared to obscure his anti-abortion views by softening his tone.
“There’s no doubt in my mind the decision of whether or not to end a pregnancy is an agonizing one,” said Dianne Hesselbein, quoting Walker. “That’s why I support legislation to increase safety and to provide more information for a woman considering her options.
“The bill leaves the final decision to a woman and her doctor.”
Taking a different tack, Joe Sanfelippo, the Republican chairman of the assembly’s health committee, argued that the state had an interest in “protecting children from feeling pain”.
He shared an anecdote about a woman whose doctor told her that her baby would die if she attempted to deliver him alive. Despite the doctor’s warning, she decided to go through with the delivery and now is the mother of a healthy 11-year-old, Sanfelippo said.
“Medicine isn’t black and white,” he said. “Doctors cannot always say for sure what is going to happen in any situation.”
The laws challenge the fetal viability standard on abortions established by the 1973 US supreme court decision Roe v Wade, which legalized abortions. Fetal viability is generally believed to occur between 22 and 24 weeks.
Legislatures in 14 other states have passed a version of the 20-week ban, though the laws in Georgia, Idaho and Arizona have been struck down by courts. Litigation is ongoing in other states. The Wisconsin bill is likely to face a legal challenge if Walker signs it into law.
Under the Wisconsin bill, doctors and medical professionals who perform abortions could face criminal charges, punishable by $10,000 in fines or three-and-a-half years in prison. The legislation also allows fathers to sue doctors for damages.
The bill carves out exemptions for medical emergencies, in cases in which women may die or suffer permanent injury within 24 hours.
