Joint Finance Committee adopts restrictions on abortion training at the University of Wisconsin

As a UW grad, this is near and dear to my heart. I went to UW with Rep. Jacque, and am proud to count him as a friend. Now UW grads will have 1 less thing to complain about when the UW Foundation calls for donations. - Virginia

From Pro-Life Wisconsin:

On March 15, 2010, Pro-Life Wisconsin and the Alliance Defense Fund revealed the disturbing results of an open records request. The open records request proved that since 2007, more than $58,878 of funds of a state agency have gone to train future abortionists at Planned Parenthood.

“Medical residents from the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority [UWHCA] participate in training at the Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin (PPWI) facility in Madison, WI… UWHCA continues to pay its residents while they are in training at PPWI,” stated James Dechene, senior vice president and general counsel for UWHCA, in response to the open records request. Click here to view Dechene’s March 5, 2010 letter.

Late this evening [June 3], the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee adopted a motion that would apply current law abortion funding restrictions to the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics Authority (UWHCA). State law (Wis. Stat. 20.927) already prohibits the funds of the state or of a state agency from being spent on the performance of an abortion. Passed on a 12-4 party-line vote, this motion specifies that the UWHCA is a state “agency” as defined for the statute. Click here to read our press release from tonight.

The budget will now go to the State Assembly and Senate, and lastly, has to be signed by pro-life Gov. Scott Walker. Our special thanks to Rep. Andre Jacque (a UW grad as well) for fighting for this on the Assembly floor. We are proud to endorse representative such as Andre, who truly do stand as a line of defense for the defenseless.