A new bill is being circulated through the Wisconsin Legislature that would require doctors performing abortions to confirm women are not being coerced into getting an abortion. It would also prohibit doctors from administering the pill that induces abortions through web conference.
The “Coercive and Webcam Abortion Prevention Action Act,” introduced by state Rep. Michelle Litjens, R-Oshkosh, in the Assembly, and state Sen. Mary Lazich, R-New Berlin, in the Senate requires the physician performing an abortion to speak to the patient in person to determine whether their consent is voluntary.
The provision would end “webcam abortions,” where women receive instructions from doctors to take an abortion-inducing pill through a telecommunication program in a clinic.
Wisconsin Right to Life said in a statement the bill is necessary because “research reveals that…in many situations choosing to abort is not what the woman really wants.”
But Young Progressives Issues Director Fiona Cahill said the bill is “eerily similar” to legislation proposed in Michigan, “indicating a wider agenda of denying women access to reproductive care.”
“Were Wisconsin Republicans truly interested in protecting pregnant women, they should have joined the Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health in October in refunding women’s health services to their pre-Governor Walker levels,” Cahill said in a statement to The Daily Cardinal.
Under state law, physicians are required to discuss options with women seeking to terminate a pregnancy at least 24 hours in advance of performing an abortion.
The bill would further require physicians to tell patients they have the right to “consent or refuse” abortion, that her consent is not voluntary if “anyone is coercing her against her will,” and that it is “unlawful” to perform the abortion without voluntary consent.
“If the physician has reason to suspect that the woman is in danger of being physically harmed by anyone who is coercing the woman to consent to an abortion against her will,” the physician must inform her of services available to help domestic abuse victims, according to the amendment.
In addition, the bill also says that in order for doctors to administer abortion-inducing drugs to women, they must be in the same room and take place after a physical exam.
Currently, state law allows women who are no more than nine weeks pregnant to have a medication abortion by taking the “abortion pill” or Mifepristone. Women currently cannot obtain "webcam abortions" in Wisconsin.
UPDATED Nov. 28: The final sentence of the article has been changed to reflect the fact that "webcam abortions" are not available in the state. The Cardinal regrets the error.
