Cancer patients involved in clinical trials in Wisconsin are one step closer to receiving health-insurance coverage for routine treatments, thanks to a bill unanimously approved by the Wisconsin Senate Tuesday.

The legislation, known as the "Cancer Patient Protection Act," authored by state Sen. Cathy Stepp, R-Sturtevant, was drafted after one of Stepp's constituents brought the issue to Stepp's attention.

"If someone is unfortunate to be stricken with cancer and chooses the route of one of these cutting-edge clinical trials, they will have their routine [medical] costs for chemotherapy and radiation covered by their insurance," Jay Risch, chief of staff for Stepp, said.

James A. Stewart, M.D., director of University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics' Breast Center, said the legislation will benefit cancer patients and the research conducted by doctors who run the clinical trials.

"In the past, too many patients who were on clinical studies as treatment for their cancer did not get their routine care covered by their insurance company," Stewart said.

This left many patients to choose between standard — and at times less promising — treatments, and experimental procedures, Stewart added.

Insurance companies will not have to foot the bill for the experimental aspects of the treatments, Stewart said, as such procedures are paid for through research grants.

"Clinical trials are conducted throughout the state in 30 different communities," Stewart said, stressing the far-reaching importance of the bill for the state.

The bill will encourage more patients to enter clinical studies, as they will not have to choose between full insurance coverage and potentially ground-breaking treatments.

Risch said Stepp is optimistic the bill will eventually help researchers perfect cancer treatments which are currently being tested, and also help save the lives of cancer patients in the state.

In separate legislative action, the Wisconsin Assembly approved a bill Tuesday requiring doctors to read a statement informing women seeking an abortion after 20 weeks gestation that a fetus at that age can feel pain.

The bill, known as the "Informed Consent Law," was hotly debated in the Assembly, as backers of the proposal defended the bill for its strong medical foundation and opponents argued the legislation was built on "junk science."

"We believe very firmly that women have the right to know the very important information that if they're seeking an abortion and are 20 weeks or more in gestation that their unborn child is capable of feeling pain," Susan Armacost, legislative director for Wisconsin Right to Life, an organization strongly backing the bill, said.

Rep. Barbara Gronemus, D-Whitehall, who voted against the bill, said it is difficult to know whether a fetus at 20 weeks old is able to feel pain.

"The termination of a pregnancy is a very difficult decision," Gronemus said. "[B]ut how can you say when they feel pain? Do you have a crystal ball someplace?"

Other considerations also need to be made when drafting legislation regarding abortion, Gronemus said, such as instances when the health of the mother is at risk and she must choose whether to have an abortion to save her own life.

Kelda Helen Roys, executive director of National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League Pro-Choice Wisconsin, echoed Gronemus' concerns as to whether the science behind the bill was legitimate.

"Unfortunately, this is a real setback for women in the state and doctors," Roys said. "This bill mandates that doctors read a medically inaccurate script to their patients, and it really intrudes on their doctor-patient relationship."

Roys said the bill is aimed at coercing women to change their minds when they are seeking abortions.