MADISON, Wis. — In video of an appearance at a conservative activists’ event, Rep. Joy Goeben revealed that the true intent of abortion-related legislation (Assembly Bill 546 and Senate Bill 553) is to try to solve the political problem the GOP’s extremism has created. As reported by the Wisconsin Examiner this morning:
The Republican author of a bill that seeks to distinguish treatment for an ectopic pregnancy and other medical conditions from abortion said her bill was a reaction to Republicans struggling on the issue during elections and that she wants to ban abortion from conception …
… At a September town hall posted to YouTube, hosted by the Wisconsin Conservative Coalition (WCC), a nonpartisan association of three conservative groups from the northeast part of the state, Goeben participated on a panel with Jacque and Reps. Nate Gustafson (R-Omro) and Paul Tittl (R-Manitowoc).
“It’s very simple,” Goeben said of her bill. “It is taking out the molar pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy — all of these things that we wouldn’t think of that as an abortion, but when there is an election we get killed on that on an emotional stance of, “Oh, this woman was going to die because she couldn’t get her health care,” Goeben said.
A Better Wisconsin Together Deputy Director Mike Browne commented, “This is appallingly cynical politics. Republicans admitted that they really care more about their own political well-being than the health of people who need abortion care. Meanwhile they explicitly said they have every intention of implementing dangerous abortion bans and continuing to insert themselves into private medical decisions where they have no business.”
During her comments Goeben also lamented that the bill didn’t double-down on Wisconsin’s current twenty- week abortion ban and admitting Republicans’ true aim is prohibiting all abortion:
Goeben said during the September panel discussion that she hopes the state eventually reverts to banning abortion at conception and told attendees that they could make that possible by helping elect candidates who align with their beliefs on the issue.
“[The bill], unfortunately, isn’t changing the 20 weeks, which I hope at some point we can go back to conception, which is where life begins,” Goeben said. “You need to get online and educate and you need to vote in primaries for people who are 100% pro-life. We are going to have upcoming elections in safe seats. In those safe, conservative seats, are you getting a candidate who is 100% pro-life and is going to stand for that because there are people who are going to run in those seats who are not.”
The Republicans’ extremism is wildly out of step with the views of Wisconsinites, who overwhelmingly want the freedom to make their own reproductive health care decisions without the interference of right-wing politicians. Recent polling indicates that a strong majority of registered voters in the Badger State (74%) support abortion access and believe that decisions on abortion should be made by individual patients in consultation with their doctor – not politicians.
