Republicans propose tax exemption for unborn children among measures to promote adoption, reduce abortions
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MADISON – Republican lawmakers are pitching a set of bills they say would support families, encourage adoption and, in some cases, reduce abortions in Wisconsin.
Included in the legislative package are bills that would classify unborn children as dependents for tax purposes and increase the dependent exemption, fund grants for families seeking to adopt, further define "abortion" under state law and prohibit public employees from engaging in abortion-related work within the scope of their government employment.
The Senate Committee on Licensing, Constitution and Federalism heard testimony on the bills, which would face an all-but-certain veto from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers if they make it to his desk. Their supporters argued the proposals are good for families, while detractors dismissed them as continued efforts to reduce abortion access in Wisconsin.
"If we can … get the strength of the family unit back, I think you’ll see this country and this state start moving forward again," Rep. Patrick Snyder, R-Schofield, told the committee Tuesday afternoon.
Four of the five bills discussed are part of a package spearheaded by Sen. Romaine Quinn, R-Cameron. Dubbed "Embrace Them Both," the proposals are intended to "build upon each other to provide protection and assistance to pregnant women and their children at all stages of life" according to a statement from Quinn when they were introduced in May.
"Taken together, the bills demonstrate a clear commitment (to building) back the culture of life that I believe is slowly eroding," Quinn said during Tuesday's hearing.
State Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison — a staunch advocate for abortion access — said in a statement that "Republican politicians are doubling down on their unpopular anti-abortion stance."
"They don't care what women and families actually need — access to contraception, paid family leave, child care, and the restoration of our rights — GOP legislators just want to ban abortion and call it a day," Roys said.
The bills in the Quinn-led package would:
Classify an unborn child as a dependent for tax purposes, beginning in the taxable year in which a person who is qualified to perform an ultrasound is able to detect a fetal heartbeat. The dependent tax exemption could not be claimed without an "attestation" from the person who provided the ultrasound that they were able to detect a fetal heartbeat, and could not be claimed for a pregnancy that ends with an abortion. The bill would also increase the individual income tax exemption for a dependent from $700 to $1,000.
Require the state Department of Health Services to award a grant to Choose Life Wisconsin to be distributed among anti-abortion counseling centers often referred to as "pregnancy resource centers" or "crisis pregnancy centers." Choose Life Wisconsin, Inc. was formed by Wisconsin Family Council and Pro-Life Wisconsin and approved as a specialized license plate in 2016. Purchases of the plate send a tax-deductible $25 contribution to the corporation, which distributes funds to the pregnancy counseling centers. The bill would send $1 million per fiscal year to the corporation, which could be distributed in amounts up to $50,000 to anti-abortion counseling centers.
Allocate $5 million for a grant program to be administered by the Department of Children and Families. Grants would be distributed to organizations that provide financial assistance to prospective adoptive families. "We have a lot of children who need a loving home, and this bill would help families to bring children into their family unit so they could provide a loving, caring environment for them," said Rep. Donna Rozar, R-Marshfield. "It should not be that they cannot afford to do that, that would throw up that barrier."
Add specifications to the state's definition of abortion "to provide that abortion does not include a physician's performance of a medical procedure or treatment designed or intended to prevent the death of a pregnant woman and not designed or intended to kill the unborn child." Those exceptions would include early induction or cesarean section performed due to medical emergency, as well as removal of a miscarriage or an ectopic, anembryonic or molar pregnancy — as long as the physician makes "reasonable medical efforts" to save both lives. Violations of the law (by someone other than the mother) would be increased to a Class E felony from a Class H felony — increasing the maximum sentence from six years to 15 years.
A fifth bill, from Sen. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere, would expand on previous efforts to limit the ability of public employees to engage in abortion-related activity. Previous Jacque bills have sought to bar public employees from performing or assisting with abortions within the scope of their employment.
This bill would ban "any person employed by the state, a state agency, or a local governmental unit from providing abortion services, promoting or encouraging abortion services, making abortion referrals, or training others or receiving training in performing abortions while acting within the scope of his or her employment."
The bill would also ban "the use of public property to provide abortion services, promote or encourage abortion services, make abortion referrals, or train individuals in performing abortions."
UW medical school dean warns that bill could jeopardize OB/GYN accreditation
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Dean Robert Golden said Tuesday that the bill, like its previous iterations, would likely lead to UW Health's OB/GYN residency training program losing its national accreditation.
The national accreditation organization for residency training programs, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, revised its program requirements after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortions in the U.S. for 50 years before it was struck down in the 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.
The ACGME continues to require that accredited OB/GYN residency programs provide "clinical experience or access to clinical experience in the provision of abortion" as part of the planned curriculum. If the program exists in a place where that experience is against the law, "the program must provide access to this clinical experience in a different jurisdiction where it is lawful."
Golden predicted that a loss of accreditation would lead to a decline in graduates seeking OB/GYN residency training with UW Health — which could lead to a loss of faculty, along with a loss of future practicing OB/GYNs in Wisconsin.
"The prohibition that this bill places on counseling in favor of abortion services or making referrals would certainly be viewed as a serious infringement on the doctor-patient relationship, which is central to the practice of medicine. It would also be viewed as impairing a physician’s ability to practice medicine consistent with accepted standards of care," Golden said.
Jacque said the proposal was "especially timely" given Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin's recent decision to resume abortion services in Wisconsin, after a Dane County judge signaled in July she did not believe the state's abortion law bans consensual procedures like those performed at Planned Parenthood.
The move came after abortions had been unavailable in Wisconsin for more than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortions in the U.S. for 50 years before it was struck down in 2022.
The organization resumed abortion services in Wisconsin on Monday.
"Republicans will not stop until the use of the word ‘abortion’ is punishable by law. Their obsession with controlling women’s bodies and health decisions poses a grave danger to people everywhere," Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard, D-Madison, said in a statement. “While Planned Parenthood has resumed services at two locations in Wisconsin, other health care organizations throughout the state have not. Republican actions today show just how important it is that we continue the uphill battle to restore and defend abortion access.”
Asked for comment on the proposals, Evers spokeswoman Britt Cudaback referred back to the governor's previous statements and vetoes.
"Our fight to restore the same reproductive rights and freedoms Wisconsinites had up until the day the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe must continue," Evers said in a statement last week, in response to the Planned Parenthood announcement. "I will keep fighting like hell every day until Wisconsinites have the right to make their own healthcare decisions without interference from politicians who don’t know anything about their lives, their family, or their circumstances."
Evers has vetoed several bills in previous legislative sessions aimed at limiting abortions in Wisconsin and has said he "will veto any legislation that turns back the clock on reproductive rights in this state."
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Republicans roll out a bill to create tax exemption for unborn children
