A controversial abortion ban bill passed out of a state committee Thursday, with an ideologically opposite bill set for a public hearing Feb. 27.
Assembly Bill 710 would ban partial-birth abortions in the state, with a federal ban already in place. The bill states partial-birth abortions are those where a fetus is partially delivered and terminated outside a woman's body.
The bill passed 7-3 in the Assembly committee, largely along party lines, with state Rep. Tony Staskunas, D-West Allis, the only Democrat voting in favor of the bill. Staskunas is also one of the co-authors of the bill.
Senate Bill 398 would repeal a 158-year-old state law that bans abortions in Wisconsin, though the law is not currently enforced due to rulings in the U.S. Supreme Court.
SB 398 is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Health, Human Services, Insurance and Job Creation Committee Wednesday.
