2023-2024 Wisconsin State Legislative Session
Our mission as pro-life advocates in Wisconsin, is to ensure protection and support for preborn children and their mothers. In the 2023-2024 legislative session, Wisconsin Right to Life has advocated for legislation that exemplifies this mission, and the heart of the pro-life movement to extend compassion and care for mothers and their children, and further create a culture of life in our state
Safe Haven Baby Boxes
Senate Bill 369 was signed by Governor Evers in December of 2023, representing a bipartisan victory for the pro-life cause. This bill authorizes the installation of newborn infant safety devices in hospitals, fire stations, and law enforcement agency buildings and allows a parent to relinquish a child under the age of 72 hours in such a device under the safe haven law.
Similar legislation has been passed in 13 states and has been lifesaving! To date, the safe haven baby box hotline has received over 9,000 calls, referred over 500 women to pregnancy help centers, and assisted in 9 adoption referrals.
Extension of Eligibility Under the Medical Assistance Program for Postpartum Women
Senate Bill 110 would extend eligibility under the Medical Assistance program for postpartum women. This legislation would ensure a continuum of care for women during the critical postpartum period and provide the medical assistance they need to ensure healthy outcomes for themselves and their children.
Women in Wisconsin are deserving of comprehensive support and resources through pregnancy and beyond, and this legislation takes another step towards achieving that goal.
Providing Financial Assistance to Adoptive Families
Assembly Bill 336 would offer financial support to parents looking to adopt and make it easier for children to find safe and loving homes.
By requiring the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to administer a competitive grant program for the purpose of providing financial assistance to prospective adoptive families, this legislation allows qualified families to complete the adoption process and provide a stable home for children in need of adoption.
TAKE ACTION – This bill has already gained bipartisan support in the Senate and passed with a large majority. We need your help to ensure it is bipartisan in the Assembly and send it to the Governor’s desk to sign.
The Embrace Them Both Bill Package
Senate Bills 343, 344, 345, and 346 make up the Embrace Them Both Bill Package, and would include assistance for pregnancy resource centers, assistance to families hoping to adopt, create a pre-born child tax credit, and provides necessary clarity that medically necessary and lifesaving procedures, such as treatment for an ectopic pregnancy, do not constitute an abortion.
In a culture that increasingly refers to abortion as “healthcare,” it is a vital reminder that abortion is the opposite, as healthcare is focused on the saving of life, and abortion takes innocent human life.
Wisconsin Right to Life Opposes Assembly Bill 975
WRTL strongly opposes Assembly Bill 975, which would establish a 14-week abortion ban through a binding referendum. After the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Wisconsin statute 940.04, which protects ALL preborn life with a medical emergency exception, was once again the law of the land. Over 1,500 lives have been saved in Wisconsin thanks to s.940.04 in less than two years.
Radical pro-abortion Governor Evers and Attorney General Kaul have openly attacked s.940.04, and we await a final determination from the courts on s.940.04. In the meantime, we defend this law as lifesaving and Wisconsin’s best defense for preborn life.
Assembly Bill 975 would disregard s.940.04 and instead introduce a 14-week abortion ban through a binding referendum. AB 975 actively undermines s.940.04 while it continues to proceed through the court system. All Wisconsin pro-life groups stand united in the defense of s.940.04 and opposition of Assembly Bill 975.
Keep track of federal right-to-life legislative issues by visiting National Right to Life.
Have questions about Wisconsin State legislation? Contact Gracie, our Legislative/PAC Director.