Huffington Post reports that Wisconsin legislature passed the 20-week abortion ban. The Senate had passed the bill earlier this year and recently the Senate approved the bill with a 61-34 vote. It now heads to Governor Walker’s desk for final signature.
Governor Scott Walker had explicitly requested:
The bill in question, which Gov. Scott Walker (R) specifically asked the legislature to send to his desk, would prohibit abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions for rape, incest or severe fetal anomalies, and would threaten doctors who perform an abortion after 20 weeks with up to $10,000 in fines and 3½ years in prison.
To justify the time limit, Republicans point to a theory that fetuses can feel pain at 20 weeks, although the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says that fetuses cannot feel pain until much later in gestation.
The link included in the quote above clearly states:
The review found that the gestational brain developments that are necessary for pain simply don't occur until the third trimester. This is largely based on the creation and eventual connection of thalamocortical pathways. The authors wrote: "The capacity for conscious perception of pain can arise only after thalamocortical pathways begin to function, which may occur in the third trimester around 29 to 30 weeks' gestational age, based on the limited data available."
More below the fold.
State Rep. Dianne Hesselbein (D) was quoted as saying:
My parents always told me to pay attention to what people do, not what they say. Governor Walker doesn't believe the final decision is up to a woman and her doctor anymore -- it's up to Republicans in the legislature of the state of Wisconsin.
Further Hesselbein’s colleagues stated:
Hesselbein's Democratic colleagues told story after story of real women who had made the decision to get an abortion after discovering 20 or more weeks into their pregnancy that the fetus has a severe or fatal condition that would cause it great suffering. They pointed out that some women do not learn about fetal anomalies or maternal health conditions until their 20-week ultrasound.
A statement by Jill Billings (D):
Sanfelippo fired back with an anecdote of his own. He said he knows of a woman whose doctor told her that her baby would die after birth and that she might not be able to have more children if she attempted to deliver him alive. But she made the decision to keep the baby, and he is now a healthy 11-year-old boy.
Governor Walker’s ( R) supporters on the other hand bent over backwards to justify their war against women.
State Rep. Joe Sanfelippo (R) claims:
In response, state Rep. Joe Sanfelippo (R) argued that the legislation is not actually about abortion and does not limit women's decisions at all.
"It's been portrayed as, 'It's banning abortion.' This bill isn't about abortion," Sanfelippo told his colleagues on Thursday. "This bill is about protecting children who are capable of feeling pain from going through an extremely excruciating and painful experience."
Well as usual the Republican supporters are
liars! Sanfelippo claims that this bill does not limit women’s decisions at all, yet that is exactly what it does! As quoted at the beginning of the diary Dr.’s found violating this bill would be
subject to fines of up to $10,000 and 3 ½ years in prison!
I am getting sick and damn tired of Radical RW Republicans and their war on women! I am tired of them trying to control women’s bodies and I am tired of them trying to do end-runs around the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling!
To the radical politicians, namely the RW Republicans” Get your damn noses out of women’s business and quit trying to control them.
They are NOT your property.
We seriously need to completely destroy (politically speaking) the Republican party. I see NO other option left at this point. It is the only way to stop these dictator wanna’bes!!
And talk about hypocrites! I am fed up to my eyeballs at how these radical RW control freaks claim they care about the life of the unborn fetus, right up until the baby is born and then they could care less if he/she lives or dies! If that doesn't prove conclusively that this whole 'pro-life' fight on their part is really about nothing but CONTROL then I don't know what does!
Text of Assembly Bill 237