With the introduction of legislation to repeal Wisconsin's criminalized abortion statute, state anti-abortion and abortion-rights activists are preparing for a fight about contraception, health issues and rape victims. Myra Marx Ferree, a UW-Madison sociology professor specializing in abortion politics, said if Roe v. Wade was overturned, the same reasoning could be used to reverse Griswold vs. Connecticut, a 1963 ruling that privatized contraception use. Overturning these bills will affect women's rights not only for getting an abortion, but for getting things some people consider abortion and some people don't,\ Ferree said. Kelda Helen Roys, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin, said, ""The same folks that are against abortion are simultaneously making abortion more necessary. Nobody wants there to be more abortion, and we know how to do that through birth control access."" Wisconsin Right to Life Executive Director Barbara Lyons said her organization would not support contraception access because abortion is used as a means of birth control.Sally Ladky, program director of Wisconsin Abstinence Coalition, said, ""If girls don't have the option of abortion, they may think very seriously about whether to have sex or not."" Lisa Boyce, vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, said there have been fewer abortions in the past decade due to ""improved access to birth control."" She also said the majority of abortions are sought by women ages 24 to 30, and that abortion is not birth control because of the cost and inconvenience. According to Ferree, health provisions in Roe are ""a question of whether a woman's body is as private as a man's body. Is a woman's body hers if she is pregnant, or possibly pregnant?""
Boyce said she was concerned Wisconsin's statute currently does noy have a health provision. ""Those who say [a health provision] is a loophole have a cruel perception of what it's like for a woman to experience health problems during pregnancy,"" Boyce said. Lyons said health has become an all-encompassing term women may abuse in order to get an abortion for economic or mental health reasons. Lack of a provision for rape in the current Wisconsin statute is another concern for Roys. ""We don't want to see rape victims thrown in prison. Unfortunately, I think it's pretty likely you'll have [prosecutors] who will try,"" she said.While Lyons acknowledges rape victims' need for counseling, she said abortion violates the rights of the unborn. ""We believe Wisconsin is very protective and that children that are the result of rape have the same right to life as other unborn children,"" Lyons said. \
