Wisconsin Doctors’ Group Stands Against Proposed Abortion Legislation

A group representing Wisconsin doctors is against a bill requiring ultrasounds before an abortion.

Supporters of the proposed requirement say it may prompt the woman to change her mind.

A handful of abortion-related bills have recently been introduced and are making their way through committees. A Senate bill authored by Mary Lazich, R-New Berlin, requires ultrasounds before abortions. Under Lazich’s bill, a woman can choose the least invasive type of ultrasound and would not be forced to look.

“During the ultrasound, the physician will display ultrasound images and provide a medical description of the images, including the dimensions of the unborn child and a visualization of the fetal heartbeat.”

A state doctor’s group, the Wisconsin Medical Society (WMS), called the requirement “interference” in the physician-patient relationship. In addition, they object to a provision in the bill requiring that abortions be performed by a doctor with admitting privileges to a hospital within 30 miles. Dr. Tosha Wetterneck of WMS says most patient care occurs away from a hospital setting:

“Procedures that are performed in free-standing, ambulatory care centers or in clinics around the state. In fact, we have rural places within the state where people are getting care not within 30 miles of a hospital. But yet we single out one procedure to make this a requirement.”

Other pending bills would give religious groups an exemption from providing health insurance which includes contraceptive coverage; another establishes civil liability for sex-selective abortion.