Way to go Wisconsin!

On Thursday, the Wisconsin state senate passed the Compassionate Care for Rape Victims bill that would require hospitals to offer access to emergency contraception for women after they have been raped.  While this law would be well overdue, it is certainly a great advance in the fight for reproductive justice in Wisconsin.  From the Badger Herald:

Sara Finger, director of Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health, said she was happy with the way the Senate voted.   

“It is a historic vote and an incredible victory for women’s health in Wisconsin,” Finger said. “We’re ecstatic to know this long-overdue legislation can now be sent to the governor to be made into law after a long, six-year fight.It’s the first pro-women’s health piece of legislation to be passed in over a decade.”

According to Finger, more than two-thirds of Wisconsin hospitals do not unconditionally provide emergency contraception to rape victims.

Co-sponsor of the bill, Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, called the Assembly “irresponsible” in not getting the legislation to the Senate again sooner.

“Rape and incest victims shouldn’t be forced to go from hospital to hospital looking for treatment that they have a legal right to,” Taylor said in an e-mail to The Badger Herald. “The crime and its consequences are just too severe.”  

Of course there has been the usual backlash from religious and anti-choice groups in Wisconsin.  It will be interesting to see the effect this law has on religiously affiliated hospitals.  The bill is expected to be signed into law by governor Jim Doyle soon.   **Since it can’t be embedded, this link is to a video of a statement from a rape survivor at the March 6, 2007 press conference announcing the introduction of this bill.  Take a look.