A fast-tracked bill banning abortions in Wisconsin after 20 weeks got a public hearing Tuesday before state lawmakers. Opponents say it could lead to inadequate care for pregnant women while supporters contend it’s needed to prevent fetal pain.
It was an emotionally charged hearing with experts on both sides giving testimony. Kewaskum Republican Rep. Jesse Kremer, who authored the bill in the Assembly, compared abortions after 20 weeks to capital punishment.
“Wisconsinites have long since abandoned the death penalty on the grounds of cruel and unusual punishment. This bill would mark another such positive step for the moral and ethical direction of our state,” Kremer said.
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Dr. Tosha Wetterneck of the Wisconsin Medical Society, which opposes the bill, said most abortions performed after 20 weeks are because of lethal fetal abnormalities or danger to the mother.
“It lowers the quality of care we can provide to our women patients in this state,” Wetterneck said. “Moreover this legislation is based on a false premise that 20-week-old fetuses perceive pain.”
The bill contains an exemption for medical emergencies but not rape or incest. Doctors performing abortions to save the mother’s life would have to do so in a way most likely to ensure the child’s survival.
Doctors who violate the proposed law could be fined up to $10,000 or face 3 years prison.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story included content from the Associated Press. It has been updated with original reporting.
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