State Senator André Jacque (R-De Pere) and State Representative Dave Murphy (R-Greenville) are currently circulating a bill that would prohibit both UW System and UW Hospital and Clinics Authority (UWHCA) employees from performing or assisting in the performance of abortions while in the scope of their employment. LRB-1845/1 would effectively end UW medical resident abortion training and UW faculty performance of abortions at the Madison Planned Parenthood abortion facility, a grisly arrangement that stains the reputation of Wisconsin’s public university system and flagship hospital.

In 2010, an open records request by Pro-Life Wisconsin and Alliance Defending Freedom revealed that since 2007, more than $58,000 of UW hospital authority funds had been used for abortion training at the Madison Planned Parenthood. The UW hospital authority paid physician medical residents in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health Ob/Gyn Department for two four-week rotations at Planned Parenthood, where they viewed and performed abortions with the oversight and assistance of department faculty.

In 2011, Governor Walker signed Act 32, the state biennial budget, which amended Wis. Stat. 20.927 to explicitly include the UW hospital authority as a “state agency” prohibited from funding abortions, with certain exceptions. The enactment of this provision was a focused effort to end the UW hospital authority’s continuing payments for medical residents performing abortions at the Madison Planned Parenthood.

However, the contractual agreement between the UW and Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin was renewed in a 2012 memorandum of understanding (MOU) in which payment for abortion services continued to flow from Planned Parenthood to UW. Regardless of who is paying for these abortions, this contractual relationship should be completely severed. LRB-1845/1 accomplishes this goal.

Importantly, the 2012 Planned Parenthood/UW MOU does more than merely pay for UW medical resident abortion training. It goes further by purchasing UW faculty hours to perform routine abortions at the abortion-only Madison Planned Parenthood facility and the now closed Appleton North/Grand Chute abortion facility. Planned Parenthood is paying or, according to the UW, “reimbursing” UW employees to do their abortions at a rate of $150/hour between 16 and 20 hours per week. If this arrangement does not technically violate Wisconsin’s current law abortion funding prohibition (and we believe it does), it most certainly violates the spirit of it.

Regarding the UW’s specious claim that this legislation would strip their Ob/Gyn medical residency program of its ACGME accreditation, federal law is crystal clear on this matter. The Hoekstra-Coats Medical Training Nondiscrimination Act of 1995 (42 U.S.C § 238n) declares that an entity that forces individuals or programs to participate in abortions is discriminatory. Accordingly, the ACGME abortion training mandate has never been enforced (nor can it be).

University of Wisconsin faculty members should not be spending their paid time providing abortions, or any services, at private abortion facilities. And Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin should not be an abortion-training ground for UW medical residents. These residents need to be instructed in how to save, preserve, and respect life, not how to kill preborn children at our state’s number-one abortion provider. Ob/Gyn medical residents can be effectively trained in addressing the complications of abortion without actually performing abortions.

Abortion - the direct, intentional killing of a preborn child - is not health care. And in poll after poll, Americans overwhelmingly say they oppose taxpayer-funded abortion. A Knights of Columbus/Marist Poll released on January 27, 2021, showed 77% of respondents opposing the use of tax dollars to pay for abortions overseas and 58% opposing the use of tax dollars to fund abortions in the United States.

Pro-Life Wisconsin thanks Senator Jacque and Representative Murphy for re-introducing legislation that finally and fully ends the scandal of Wisconsin’s public employees doing Planned Parenthood’s dirty work. This has gone on far too long and should never have occurred at all. We strongly encourage state legislators to co-sponsor this critical legislation.

The Pro-Life Wisconsin Victory Fund Political Action Committee (PAC) has endorsed Judge Greg Gill for Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District 3. Headquartered in Wausau, District 3 covers thirty-five counties in northern Wisconsin: Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Brown, Buffalo, Burnett, Chippewa, Door, Douglas, Dunn, Eau Claire, Florence, Forest, Iron, Kewaunee, Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon, Marinette, Menominee, Oconto, Oneida, Outagamie, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Price, Rusk, Sawyer, Shawano, St. Croix, Taylor, Trempealeau, Vilas, and Washburn counties. The general election is scheduled for Tuesday, April 6.

A self-described “textualist” and “judicial conservative,” Judge Gill practices a philosophy of judicial restraint on the Outagamie County Circuit Court– strictly applying the law as written and according to its original public meaning. He strongly opposes judicial activism in the form of creating new law from the bench to effect political or social change. Judge Gill rules independently and impartially and will continue to do so should he be elected to the state appellate court. His belief in the dignity of the human person, commitment to equal protection under the law, love of family, and fidelity to our federal and state constitutions make him the only choice for pro-life voters. Pro-Life Wisconsin is proud to endorse Judge Greg Gill.

Judge Gill has served as a circuit court judge in Outagamie County for the past nine years, handling criminal, civil, family, and juvenile matters. Twice reelected, he was originally appointed to the position by Governor Walker. He also serves as the presiding judge for the Outagamie County Mental Health Court and previously presided over the county’s Veteran’s Treatment Court. Preceding his time on the bench, Greg Gill was a partner at his family’s law firm Gill & Gill, focusing on labor and employment law. And prior to his time in private practice, he was a law clerk for Federal District Court Judge William C. Griesbach.

A two time Big 10 Champion and one time All-American in the Decathlon, Greg Gill was a member of the University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison Track and Field Team. He received his J.D. from Marquette University Law School and began his legal career as an assistant district attorney for Outagamie County. Greg and his wife have been married for fourteen years and are raising three children while serving as a respite family in the Outagamie County Foster Care system.

The Victory Fund PAC is urging the citizens of northern Wisconsin to get out to the polls on Tuesday, April 6, and vote for Judge Greg Gill for Wisconsin Court of Appeals. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. for this nonpartisan race. More information is available here on where you should vote, who else is on your local ballot, and information on voting absentee if you cannot vote on Election Day.

YOU'RE INVITED TO PRO-LIFE WISCONSIN'S
2021 LIVING COURAGE AWARDS DINNER

Join us on Thursday, April 22, 2021, at the Pavilion Exhibit Hall at the Washington County Fair Park and Conference Center (3000 County Hwy PV, West Bend, WI 53095) for the 2021 Living Courage Awards Dinner. The evening will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a social hour, followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m.

Hear an inspiring address from our keynote speaker, Steve Karlen, 40 Days for Life Campaign Director, and get a copy of his latest book, This is When We Begin to Fight. Honor our 2021 Activist of the Year, Gwen Finnegan of Madison Vigil for Life, and 2021 Legislator of the Year, Representative Chuck Wichgers for their outstanding efforts to defend the preborn in Wisconsin.

We hope you will join us for an evening celebrating Wisconsin's pro-life heroes! RSVP before April 5, 2021 to reserve your seat.  

*Clergy and religious are free with promo code “CLERGY” or “RELIGIOUS” online.

Just click on the “Register Here” button, and enter the promotional code in the upper right hand corner of the entrée selection section.

Choose Life license plates have been available to Wisconsin motorists since late October 2017. Pro-Life Wisconsin and Wisconsin Family Council partnered to underwrite all the administrative costs of Choose Life Wisconsin, which allows us to give to give every penny that comes from the sale of the plates to Wisconsin’s incredible pregnancy care centers!

With 1,791 of these plates on cars in the Badger State, sales have resulted in a total of nearly $100,000 which has been granted to over twenty-five Wisconsin pregnancy resource centers in a little over two years.

If you would like to be a part of the mission to save lives, get your Choose Life Wisconsin license plate today! For more information call Pro-Life Wisconsin at 262-796-1111 ext. 110.

Visit our website to stay updated on current news, events, legislative issues, and more! You can find our stance on abortion, end of life issues, contraception, natural family planning, stem cell research, and cloning.

ProLifeWI.org