Activists gathered Wednesday on the steps of the state Capitol to protest abortion restrictions in the healthcare reform bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The rally was part of a national day of action against the Stupak amendment in the bill. The amendment, named after Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., would not allow federal funds to pay for insurance plans covering abortion outside of rape, incest or medical risks to the mother.
Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton spoke at the rally and said she was angry that women are being treated ""like a special interest group."" She said women's rights should not be politicized in order to get the health-care bill passed.
""We just want honest health-care reform and stay out of our decision-making on medical choices and just give us full insurance coverage in the same way that men are given full coverage,"" she said. ""No amendments to it.""
State Rep. Terese Berceau, D-Madison, said the Stupak amendment is a step backward in the fight for women's equality. Not only does it separate women from men, she said, it separates ""women from themselves.""
Berceau also said a democratic government has no right to control women's decisions regarding their own well-being. Berceau, a two-time cancer survivor, said a woman's control over her own body should not be given up in order to gain support for the bill.
Chris Taylor, the public policy director for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, said the Stupak amendment is the biggest barrier to women's reproductive rights since 1973 and the U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade.
She said citizens of Wisconsin should ask Senators Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and Herb Kohl, D-Wis., to keep a similar amendment out of a Senate health-care bill.
""If we do not stand up for our rights and our health, no one will,"" Taylor said.
UW seniors Nicole Steffens and Monica Sundal attended the rally to express their opposition toward the amendment. Steffens said she agrees with the need for a national health-care bill, but thinks people should slow down and educate themselves about the specifics of the legislation.
""We need to get every single piece of the picture, and that's what bothers me about it,"" she said.
Wednesday's rally was sponsored by over a dozen organizations, including NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin.
