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Doyle officially signs awaited Compassionate Care into law

Gov. Jim Doyle signed a bill into law Thursday requiring hospitals to provide emergency contraception to sexual assault victims upon their request.

Carla Vigue, spokesperson for Gov. Doyle, said the governor was glad to sign the bipartisan bill.

“The governor thinks it’s important for survivors of sexual assault to have the health care they need and information they need to insure they can live a healthy life,” Vigue said. “The Legislature has been looking at this bill for quite some time, and the governor was happy to sign the bill today.”

After spending years working on the legislation, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin Kelda Helen Roys was excited to see the bill signed.

“I think it’s a great day for women in Wisconsin,” Roys said. “This means that women in Wisconsin who are raped will no longer receive substandard care.”

Roys, who has been working on this legislation since it was first introduced in 2001, said she thinks the change in political party majority made a real difference.

“I think it really shows that elections matter. When Republicans controlled both houses, we couldn’t even get a hearing on the issue,” said Roys. “Once rape victims were able to tell their story, I think that made the difference. We hope this is the first of many bills where Republicans and Democrats come together to do the right thing for women.”

The new law will require any hospital with emergency services to provide sexual assault victims with information about emergency contraception and also to provide the emergency contraception if the victim requests it.

Opponents of the bill, such as Wisconsin Family Action Inc. president Julaine Appling, think that by signing the law the governor has redefined when life begins to being at the moment of implantation and not at fertilization of an egg.

“I think in doing this the governor has neglected his sworn duty to protect our constitution. It protects conscience rights and religious beliefs,” Appling said. “The governor summarily redefined when life begins. I think this is an egregious discrimination against people that believe life begins at the moment of conception.”