State Senate passes Patient Abandonment Bill and Junk-Science Bill

[sybylla]

According to this PDF press release from Planned Parenthood
http://www.thewheelerreport.com/releases/Sept05/Sept29/0929phoodconscience.pdf

SENATE PASSES BILLS GUTTING PATIENT PROTECTION LAWS AND VIOLATING
MEDICAL ETHICS

Despite widespread opposition among public and the health care community Republican Majority bows to anti-birth control special interest groups

Madison, WI- In a devastating blow to patients, the Wisconsin Senate passed two bills yesterday that roll back patients’ rights and gut medical ethics laws. AB 207, the Patient Abandonment Bill, is the most comprehensive attack on patients ever considered by any state in the nation. SB138, the “Junk Science” Bill, mandates that physicians lie to a woman considering abortion, even in circumstances where continuing a pregnancy could kill her. Another bill, SB 286, which mandates that abstinence until marriage be stressed in all sex education courses, also passed without amendments to include information about birth control to prevent unintended pregnancies, and information to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV.

The Patient Abandonment Bill allows health care providers, hospitals and health care entities to refuse to provide services, information or referrals for certain activities, including prescribing birth control, if the provider mistakenly believes birth control pills cause an abortion. The bill also allows providers to refuse infertility treatments and life-saving stem cell therapies, even if refusing could harm or kill the patient. Health care providers can also ignore court orders and the direction of a legal guardian regarding withdrawing feeding tubes of patients in a persistent vegetative state.

In addition, the Patient Abandonment Bill allows health care providers to escape liability and professional discipline for harming patients who are denied full and accurate information about all of their health care options.

Almost 300 people turned out to register opposition to the bill during two public hearings in the Assembly and Senate. Countless health care providers and patient advocacy groups opposed the bill, including the Marshfield clinics, the Medical College of Wisconsin, the UW Medical Foundation, Hospice, the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups, the National Association of Social Workers-Wisconsin Chapter and the Wisconsin Nurses Association. Only one group supported the bill, Wisconsin Right to Life, which is opposed to stem cell therapies, infertility treatments, birth control and abortion even when a woman could die. Led by Senate Minority Leader Judy Robson, many Democratic senators offered amendments to the bill in an attempt to make it better for patients, such as to require that patients being denied treatment receive referrals or are at least notified by a physician regarding what information and treatments would be denied.

All amendments were defeated. Despite the widespread opposition to the bill, all Republican senators voted for the bill and all Democratic senators voted against it, except Roger Breske (Eland) and Jeff Plale (Milwaukee).

“The Patient Abandonment Bill removes compassion for patients from Wisconsin law. It is an attempt by Wisconsin Right to Life, an organization that does not provide health care, to impose its extreme agenda on every patient in the state,” stated Chris Taylor, political director and staff attorney for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin (PPAWI). “The end result of this bill is that the best interest and health care needs of the patient are second to the personal beliefs of the health care provider, and the most vulnerable patients are abandoned during their greatest hour of need.”
<MORE>

Here come the vetos. Seems we're in for another legislative session of extremism and idiocy, apparently.


Edited for formatting and to add the followiing link fyi:

National Organization of Women - Wisconsin's PDF press release
STATE SENATE ADVANCES MEDIEVAL ANTI-WOMAN AGENDA
http://www.thewheelerreport.com/releases/Sept05/Sept29/0929nowantiwoman.pdf

[ewagner]

1. The Veto is the point

of the bill to begin with...

this tactic has been used over and over again by the Repubs...

pass an obnoxious bill and force the Gov to veto it so the Repubs can "pound their breasts" in faux outrage to fire up their extremest/fundamentalist base.

same sh**, different day.

[gizmo1979]

11. This is becoming a huge problem.

There are no real bills coming to the floor,just political manuevering,the voter ID bill,concealed weapon,cloning,next will be gay marriage.While all this goes on,Rome burns.Poverty is rising,health care is rising causing jobs to leave the state,education is hurting because of some vendetta.These aren't law makers they are professional campaigners,and nothing is getting done.

[eyesroll]

2. WHAT THE HELL IS JEFF PLALE'S PROBLEM!?!?

He's my state senator. John Richards, I've heard, is sort-of considering a run against him. I'd support that.

[MessiahRp]

3. I kind of punched them in the teeth on this today

http://www.winnebagodems.org

:)

Rp

[sybylla]

4. Hey, Messiah - where you bin?

Nice job on the website!

Don't be such a stranger :hi:

[MessiahRp]

5. Lost my internet, damn near everything else too...

I've been laid off since January 22nd and finding a job that works with being a Single parent isn't as easy as it looks.

So I haven't had internet for 4 months and now I even lost my donor star... :-/

I am back for awhile though, hopefully longer.

Rp

[sybylla]

6. Whoa, that's tough.

Single parents have all my sympathy. It's the toughest job out there and I hope it all will work out for you. :hug:

I do remember you saying you were going to have to take a break but I didn't think it would be this long. I'm so glad you're back and I hope it's permanent. :pals:


Now, let's see what we can do about that missing star...

[MessiahRp]

7. Whoa...

Thanks Sybs... Yeah we're still working on the job thing. It turns out if I had a car I'd be employed right now easily because I have been offered three jobs in Fond Du Lac. But unfortunately God is punishing me for some unknown wrong and I don't have a car.

I had a second interview at a Credit Union today but eh, they said they do credit checks. I have never understood this part of the hiring process.

Let's analyze why someone is applying to work for you.
1. They either don't have a job or need better pay/benefits
2. That means they aren't making enough money to make ends meet or not enough to live within their means.
3. This means that they may be behind on bills because of that lack of funding.
4. They need a job with you to pay those bills.

So why the hell do jobs do credit checks when your entire reason to apply there is to get a job and pay the bills?

Backwards logic.

So yeah, anyone that has a car they can give away, drop me a line. :)

Thanks for the donor star Sybs. I owe you one.

Rp

[sybylla]

8. Pay it forward, my friend

You owe me nothing. You get back on your feet and someday you'll help along the next person in straits. That's what fine living is all about. :toast:


And it sucks about the credit check. I used to work in the banking/credit industry. If you'd have your hands on cash every day, I can understand the concern, but if you're working behind the scenes, seems ridiculous. Take heart, though. The banking industry is one of the lowest paying gigs around until you get past middle management. I realize it's better than nothing, but I have confidence you'll do better.

I'll keep my ears open for freebie or near-freebie cars. I have a rather poor excuse for a car in my own back yard that may become available soon. On the other hand, it needs enough work that I won't be fun to drive as far as FdL.

[MessiahRp]

9. Thanks again...

And if you find a car for me.... :-0

I appreciate all the help and the gesture itself. You rule Sybs.

Rp

[shoelace414]

10. I just think of the backwater state we would be if

Macallum was still the Gov. The repubs are passing EVERY far right bill they can come up with.

[MadAsHell]

12. I think Ewagner has the point ...

If it weren't Doyle in the Governor's seat the bills would not come up. They are working this agenda to whip up the base and make the Governor veto them.

As an example, the last budget go-round they cut the per-pupil revenue cap limit increase from 3% to 1%. They knew that the Governor would veto it. But they didn't count on the creativeness of the line-item veto, and they expected that the Governor would have to leave the revenue limit increase unfunded. That in turn would have meant the local school boards would have to make up the difference with local property tax, thereby allow the Repubs to have the property tax as issue to run on. It was just political posturing, they knew schools all over the state would have been in the same shape as Florence. And that there would have been hell to pay.

They know that most of this crap is bad public policy but their taskmasters at Wisconsin Manufactures and Commerce want the public more concerned about evil cloning labs, teenage sex lives, and poor defenseless gun lobby than fair taxation, decent education, and reasonable environmental regulations.

Just a last note, they had the Governor's chair with both houses under Scotty boy and did they move on all these issues? No, because the issue is what they want... They don't want to really do anything about it.