Scott Walker’s Record on Religious Issues

It must be the final weeks of a gubernatorial campaign if Gov. Scott Walker is earnestly looking straight to camera saying he respects others’ beliefs. One Wisconsin Now Program Director Analiese Eicher noted that Walker’s words in this election cycle ring hollow when compared to his action and inaction on issues important to women, people of color, migrant families, students and sex assault survivors.

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/29/2018]

Shortly after President Trump announced his pick for Supreme Court, the liberal group One Wisconsin Now sent an email with the subject line: “Trump, Walker will criminalize abortion.”

“If he is not blocked, Brett Kavanaugh will be the deciding vote to overturn Roe v. Wade and do what Scott Walker has been trying to do for 25 years: criminalize women having abortions.”

Analiese Eicher of One Wisconsin Now predicts the abortion issue will be at the “forefront of the conversation” in the governor’s race. One reason for that, she says, is because of how “extreme” Wisconsin’s ban is, allowing almost no exceptions.

“This is something folks are going to be asking people point blank,” she says. “It’s not something you can be wishy-washy about. Either you are for the right to choose or not.”

[Isthmus, 07/19/2018]

“If he is not blocked, Brett Kavanaugh will be the deciding vote to overturn Roe v. Wade and do what Scott Walker has been trying to do for 25 years: criminalize women having abortions,” said Analiese Eicher of the liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now.

[Urban Milwaukee, 07/12/2018]

“If he is not blocked, Brett Kavanaugh will be the deciding vote to overturn Roe v. Wade and do what Scott Walker has been trying to do for 25 years: criminalize women having abortions,” said Analiese Eicher of the liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now.

[Wisconsin Public Radio, 07/11/2018]

One Wisconsin Now Program Director Analiese Eicher released the following statements about Donald Trump nominating Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/09/2018]

A media report suggests a right wing group provided Trump administration officials with their Bible-based talking points attempting to justify their border policy of stripping children from their parents. The same group, Capitol Ministries, was previously welcomed to the Wisconsin Capitol by Gov. Scott Walker when they established a Bible study group here to help “... Christians in the political sphere.”

[One Wisconsin Now, 06/21/2018]

Gov. Scott Walker declined Tuesday to voice support for Wisconsin to enact its version of a new Iowa law that bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, typically about six weeks into a pregnancy. “I think our laws protecting life in this state are very strong,” Walker told reporters in Madison. Asked again if he would back something like the Iowa law here, Walker repeated that Wisconsin’s existing laws are strong. Walker’s unwillingness to publicly support the controversial measure comes as his bid for a third term is heating up.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 05/23/2018]

Media reports, based on records obtained by One Wisconsin Now, reveal a top lawyer in Gov. Scott Walker’s office joined Attorney General Brad Schimel and two Department of Justice lawyers attending a controversial conference hosted by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). According to a Walker spokesperson, state employee J.D. Tripoli had all expenses covered by the ADF, classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, to attend their conference at a luxurious ocean side resort in California in July 2017.

[One Wisconsin Now, 05/21/2018]

At their annual state convention this weekend, Gov. Scott Walker’s Republican Party of Wisconsin (RPW) will be charging $50 per person for a “pay to pray” breakfast on Sunday. In exchange for their cash, attendees will, according to the RPW convention ticket website, have exclusive access to pray with top GOP office holders.

[One Wisconsin Now, 05/11/2018]

Gov. Scott Walker signed 64 bills into law Tuesday, including one that prohibits state health insurance plans for public employees from covering abortion procedures with some exceptions.The abortion bill, which the Assembly passed in November and the Senate passed in February along party lines after it failed to pass in 2013, is the latest in a series of laws passed by Walker and the Republican-controlled Legislature that restrict access to abortion… The latest bill prohibits the Group Insurance Board from covering abortions except in cases of rape, incest or to protect the life of the mother. State law already limited state health plans to covering only medically necessary abortions, though bill proponents said the new law was needed to clarify what constitutes a medically necessary abortion.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 04/04/2018]

The governor’s 2017-19 budget proposal would make optional the “allocable segregated fees” portion of the tuition bill at University of Wisconsin System schools. These are the student fees that fund such things as student government, student organizations and even a free bus pass program for UW-Madison students. “At a time when we want to make college more affordable, we should not be forcing all students to pay for things such as ‘Sex Out Loud,’” said Walker spokesman Tom Evenson in a statement. “The governor’s proposal reduces tuition for students by 5 percent and ensures they have the final say on what their money funds in terms of allocable programs. It is all aimed at affordability and accountability.”

[WatchDog, 03/28/2017]

Jenni Dye, research director for the liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now, said there are other strategies for preventing premarital pregnancy that Walker has opposed, such as providing contraception and reproductive health services to low-income women. “Poverty will be solved through structural change that gives people opportunities to succeed, not through Gov. Walker preaching about their individual choices,” Dye said. [Wisconsin State Journal, 02/02/2017]

The state on Wednesday halted insurance coverage of gender reassignment surgery for transgender state workers, noting that a federal judge blocked federal rules requiring such coverage. Covering gender reassignment surgery and related benefits would have cost $100,000 to $250,000 a year in a $1.5 billion program that provides health benefits to about 250,000 state and local government workers and their dependents, a state consultant said. The estimate assumes two to five people would have used the transgender services per year. Mark Lamkins, spokesman for the state Department of Employee Trust Funds, said the department couldn’t determine Wednesday if any workers or dependents pursued the benefits in January, when they were available. The services had to be deemed medically necessary. The Group Insurance Board, which oversees the benefits program, decided in July to add coverage of transgender services in 2017, following advice from its attorneys that federal rules from the Affordable Care Act require the coverage. In August, the state Department of Justice, at Gov. Scott Walker’s request, asked the board to reconsider. It said the board’s decision was based on “unlawful” rules that “improperly reinterpret” Title IX, which covers discrimination on the basis of sex, as applying to gender identity.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 02/02/2017]

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin will permanently shutter one of its three abortion clinics in the state, leaving Madison and Milwaukee as the only cities in Wisconsin offering abortions… Five Planned Parenthood health centers have closed in Wisconsin since Gov. Scott Walker eliminated state funding for the organization in 2011, though none were facilities that provided abortions. The Appleton clinic will be the sixth to close.

[Capital Times, 08/22/2016]

Wisconsin is joining 10 other states in a federal lawsuit to challenge President Barack Obama’s mandate requiring all public K-12 and postsecondary schools to allow students to use locker rooms and restrooms based on their “gender identity.” Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel, backed by Gov. Scott Walker, is leading the state’s entry into the lawsuit, joining Texas, Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

[Milwaukee Business Journal, 05/23/2016]

A spokeswoman for Gov. Scott Walker, who appointed Bradley to three judgeships in as many years — including as Supreme Court justice last fall — said Monday that “neither the Governor nor our office was aware of the columns.” The spokeswoman did not immediately respond to whether Walker would have appointed Bradley had he known. “Justice Bradley appropriately made it clear today that a column written in college does not reflect her views as a Supreme Court Justice, a court of appeals judge, a circuit court judge or as an attorney,” Walker said in a statement.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 03/08/2016]

Gov. Scott Walker signed two bills Thursday that cut by several million dollars a year the amount of public money that goes to Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. “We want to make sure as taxpayers whether it’s state funds or federal funds that come through the State of Wisconsin that they’re used in the way that’s responsible and reasonable,” Walker said before signing the bills, which he said would withhold money to “controversial entities like Planned Parenthood.” One bill restricts how much Planned Parenthood can be reimbursed for prescription drugs, stripping it of an estimated $4 million a year, according to Planned Parenthood. A second measure is expected to cut another $3.5 million in government payments to Planned Parenthood because it provides abortions. Walker signed the bills at Life’s Connection, a clinic in Waukesha specializing in abortion alternatives.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 02/18/2016]

Walker among Republicans against Trump’s idea to ban Muslims: The Associated Press reports: “Gov. Scott Walker joins a growing number of Republicans publicly opposing presidential candidate Donald Trump’s call to ban Muslims from entering the United States. Walker, who abandoned his own presidential campaign in September, was in Chippewa Falls Tuesday where he told WQOW-TV that the country’s founding principles are based on protecting religious liberties, so he disagrees with Trump’s proposal.

[Capital Times, 12/09/2015]

Gov. Scott Walker pledged Monday that the state “will not accept new Syrian refugees” as he and Republican legislators joined a national chorus of mostly GOP leaders Monday calling on President Barack Obama to bar refugees from entering the United States. Immigration experts said governors can’t legally prohibit refugees from settling in their states but they can establish policies that make living in their states more difficult. Walker said in the wake of last week’s terrorist attacks in Paris that Wisconsin’s first priority “must be to protect our citizens.” “In consultation with our adjutant general, who also serves as my homeland security adviser, it is clear that the influx of Syrian refugees poses a threat,” Walker said. “With this in mind, I am calling upon the president to immediately suspend the program pending a full review of its security and acceptance procedures.”

[Wisconsin State Journal, 11/17/2015]

Walker maintains that he has consistently opposed abortion in all cases, even though he signed a 20-week abortion ban in July that includes an exception for the life of a mother. He had already changed his mind once on that exception. In the 1990s as a state legislator, he told anti-abortion group Pro-Life Wisconsin that he supported it, but since 2000 he has told the group he opposed it.During his short-lived presidential campaign and again in a recent interview with reporters, Walker laid out a defense of his position. “You can protect both the life of the mother and the life of the child,” Walker said. “Now I’ve supported and signed legislation that made emergency exceptions for the life of the mother, but … that’s a false choice. There are plenty of medical options that allow you to provide for both.” Bioethicists and doctors who study the issue and train OB/GYNs in what to do in such situations say it’s true medical advancements in recent decades have reduced the number of cases in which a choice is necessary. But they also argue doctors and families still occasionally face that choice. “The governor is mistaken if he’s claiming that kind of case never occurs,” said Lawrence Hinman, a bioethicist and professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of San Diego. “Politically, my guess is, it’s wishful thinking. If the choice between the life of the mother and the life of the fetus never occurs, then we don’t have to get too upset about this language one way or the other.” …Walker answered yes to that question in 2000, 2006, 2010 and 2012. That was a change from his response on the questionnaire when he ran for Assembly in 1994, 1996 and 1998 when he said he supported an exception for the life of a mother, Sande said. Walker told the reporters the only thing that has changed over the past 20 years, is “it’s become clear to me and to many others that you can do both.” During the 2014 election, Walker didn’t fill out the survey, forfeiting a shot at the group’s endorsement. He also drew fire from liberal groups — and later from conservatives during his run for president — for a political ad in which he touted being “pro-life” but also signing a bill “that leaves the final decision to a woman and her doctor.”

[Wisconsin State Journal, 10/19/2015]

Gov. Scott Walker Thursday came out in favor of clearer rules on which bathrooms can be used by transgender students in public schools. The Republican governor was reacting to a proposal by two GOP lawmakers that would require public schools to designate their restrooms and locker rooms as “male” or “female.” The bill would effectively bar transgender students from using the facilities in the gender with which they identify. The measure would allow transgender students to use single-stall restrooms if their parents or guardians seek the accommodation in writing. “I think it’s important to have some clarity about that and I know school districts around the state have just begun to deal with that,” Walker said of the issue. “I understand at least one school district has looked at a separate bathroom and I think that makes some sense but I think with respect to all the other students there’s got to be some clarity.” Rep. Jesse Kremer (R-Kewaskum) and Sen. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) said in an email seeking co-signers for the bill that it would protect all students’ privacy and safety and reinforce “the societal norms in our schools.”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/08/2015]

Governor Walker, before he withdrew from the presidential race, said he thought abortion should be forbidden even if the mother dies,” Judge Richard Posner said during arguments. “Is that kind of official Wisconsin policy?” “That perhaps is Governor Walker’s personal opinion,” but it’s not the state’s policy, responded Assistant Attorney General Brian Keenan. The GOP governor, who dropped out of the presidential race last week, said in August that choosing between the life of a mother and a fetus was a “false choice” and that better options were always available.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/01/2015]

"It's fitting that the same guy who refused to be straight with Wisconsin voters about his position on abortion in 2014 is visiting a crisis pregnancy center," said Jenni Dye, research director for One Wisconsin Now and former executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin. "The truth is CPCs lie to women and will do or say anything to prevent women from making educated, independent decisions about their reproductive health, just like Gov. Walker will do or say anything to get elected. On issues from abortion to immigration, Walker has proven he can't be trusted." Dye was referring to Walker's 2014 gubernatorial re-election campaign, during which he at times appeared moderate on the issue of abortion. [Capital Times, 08/24/2015]

Jenni Dye, research director for the liberal group One Wisconsin Now, said Walker was using the bill to boost his presidential bid. "This latest bill is more political opportunism, putting Walker's presidential primary politics ahead of people's health," said Dye, who previously served as the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin. "It is far past time for Walker and Republican legislators to have a plan for providing affordable health care to every Wisconsinite, instead of finding new ways to cut health services like Planned Parenthood and hurt the many Wisconsinites who benefit from their services." [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 08/21/2015]

Liberals were particularly peeved by Walker’s responses to the questions about abortion and targeting of African-Americans. They drew mentions from the websites Huffington Post and Think Progress and from the liberal group One Wisconsin Now. [Wisconsin State Journal, 08/09/2015]

Jenni Dye, research director for the liberal group One Wisconsin Now, disputed Walker's comments. "Absolutely there are situations where a woman's life is in danger if she continues a pregnancy," she said. "We need someone with medical training making these decisions, not politicians," said Dye, who previously served as the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin. "If Governor Walker wants to make these decisions about women's pregnancies, he should pursue a medical degree and not the presidency." [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 08/08/2015]

Liberal group One Wisconsin Now said Walker’s targeting of Planned Parenthood had dire consequences. The group said in a statement that Walker’s defunding of Planned Parenthood forced the closure of rural health centers and cut access to health services such as cancer screenings and birth control. [Wisconsin State Journal, 08/07/2015]

WALKER RHETORIC: “I’ve always been pro-life and I’ve got a position I think is consistent with many Americans out there.”

[One Wisconsin Now, 08/06/2015]

Fielding questions at the Koch network’s donor summit here Saturday night, the Republican presidential candidate reiterated the controversial position of uncertainty that he staked out in February. “You’re not going to get a different answer than I said before,” the Wisconsin governor said. “I don’t know. I presume he is. … But I’ve never asked him about that. As someone who is a believer myself, I don’t presume to know someone’s beliefs about whether they follow Christ or not unless I’ve actually talked with them.” [Washington Post, 08/01/2015]

One Wisconsin Now research director Jenni Dye: “It is sickening but not surprising that Gov. Walker has put his own political ambitions above the health and lives of Wisconsinites. By signing this bill, Walker has forced pure political calculation to take the place of medicine when it comes to personal decisions about a woman’s pregnancy. “That even one woman’s life or health may be put at risk so Walker can increase his credibility with the extreme right-wing Republican presidential base is as unacceptable as it is heartbreaking. If Gov. Walker wants to make medical decisions, he should pursue a medical degree instead of continuing the relentless pursuit of his own political ambitions.” [Wisconsin Gazette, 07/20/2015]

"It is sickening but not surprising that Gov. Walker has put his own political ambitions above the health and lives of Wisconsinites. By signing this bill, Walker has forced pure political calculation to take the place of medicine when it comes to personal decisions about a woman’s pregnancy," said Jenni Dye, research director for One Wisconsin Now and former executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin. "That even one woman’s life or health may be put at risk so Walker can increase his credibility with the extreme right-wing Republican presidential base is as unacceptable as it is heartbreaking. If Gov. Walker wants to make medical decisions, he should pursue a medical degree instead of continuing the relentless pursuit of his own political ambitions." [Capital Times, 07/20/2015]

After being criticized by right-wing power brokers for a 2014 ad in which he moderated his stance on abortion, Gov. Scott Walker has quickly moved to sign the dangerous abortion ban he asked lawmakers to pass without exceptions for rape or incest.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/20/2015]

“I have had a lifelong commitment to the Scouts and support the previous membership policy because it protected children and advanced Scout values.” [Independent Journal Review, 07/14/2015]

Speaking straight to camera in a television ad for his 2014 gubernatorial election, Scott Walker in his own words told Wisconsin he supported leaving, “the final decision to a woman and her doctor.” After being criticized for the ad by right-wing power brokers he needs to win the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, Gov. Scott Walker called for a new abortion ban in Wisconsin. The State Assembly gave final passage to that ban today and in the process interfered in the intensely personal decisions of women to terminate a wanted pregnancy and put their judgment before medical professionals to boost Gov. Walker’s political ambition.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/09/2015]

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, seizing the moment after the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, called Friday for a Constitutional amendment that would allow the states to decide whether gay marriage should be legal. Walker’s call came shortly after the high court ruled 5-4 that same-sex couples could marry across the country, overturning a number of state same-sex marriage bans. The ruling was “a grave mistake,” the Republican governor said, touting his support for amending his state’s constitution “to protect the institution of marriage from exactly this type of judicial activism.” “As a result of this decision, the only alternative left for the American people is to support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to reaffirm the ability of the states to continue to define marriage,” Walker said in the statement. [Politico, 06/26/2015]

Gov. Scott Walker said Monday he will sign a proposed 20-week abortion ban whether or not it includes an exemption for cases of rape or incest. Walker, who had previously expressed support for the bill that's on a fast track in the Wisconsin Legislature, said it didn't matter whether there was an exemption. As introduced, there is none in the bill.

[Associated Press, 06/01/2015]

In a recent radio interview nationally recognized women’s reproductive health expert, Dr. Douglas Laube, said the new abortion ban proposed by legislative Republicans and supported by Gov. Scott Walker (Assembly Bill 237/Senate Bill 179) could force a woman terminating a pregnancy to save her life to undergo an invasive cesarean section (c-section) surgery that dramatically increases the chance of injury to or death of the mother.

[One Wisconsin Now, 05/29/2015]

Opponents of the Wisconsin bill, including Jenni Dye of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now, charge that the language allowing late-term abortions to protect the life of the mother is too narrow. [Daily Beast, 05/28/2015]

"This Walker-backed abortion ban is so extreme that there are no exceptions for rape and incest," said Jenni Dye, research director for One Wisconsin Now and former executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin. "It could even prevent doctors treating a woman with a medical emergency from using the procedure most likely to save her life or her health. It is a heartless attempt by politicians to dictate women's lives, instead of leaving these intensely personal decisions to Wisconsin women." [Capital Times, 05/09/2015]

The appeal comes as Republican lawmakers consider introducing legislation that would ban abortion after 20 weeks. Such a measure would be all but certain to attract its own litigation. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 04/06/2015]

Thousands of Wisconsinites have signed a One Wisconsin Now petition demanding Gov. Walker cease having Wisconsin do business with Indiana in light of the Hoosier state’s unprecedented attack on the LGBT community signed into law by Republican Gov. Mike Pence.

[One Wisconsin Now, 04/03/2015]

The State of Wisconsin's unsuccessful court battle to prevent gay marriage will cost taxpayers more than $1 million, under an agreement released Friday. State Attorney General Brad Schimel, a Republican, and attorneys for eight gay and lesbian couples reached the agreement after the couples successfully sued to overturn the state's 2006 constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. The couples were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, which sought $1.25 million to cover its costs because the couples prevailed in their lawsuit. Ultimately, the ACLU will receive nearly $1.1 million, under the stipulation released Friday...Gov. Scott Walker, one of the defendants, and then-Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, both Republicans, opposed the same-sex plaintiffs at every level of the federal court system, he said. "The state never seemed to appreciate how much taxpayer money is expended on this type of litigation in which it was pretty clear from the outset that Wisconsin was going to lose," Tobias said. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 03/27/2015]

“A federal judge on Friday struck down a Wisconsin law requiring doctors performing abortions to get hospital-admitting privileges, concluding that the measure was enacted primarily to provide an obstacle for women seeking abortions. U.S. District Judge William Conley, who earlier had put the law on hold, ruled that the 2013 law is unconstitutional. He issued a permanent injunction blocking its enforcement. "The only reasonable conclusion is that the legislation was motivated by an improper purpose, namely to restrict the availability of abortion services in Wisconsin," Conley wrote.”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 03/20/2015]

“It is true that unfortunately, given the way that politics are playing out in Wisconsin, with an incredibly anti-choice legislature and governor, we won’t be seeing increases in reproductive care access coming from the state level,” said Jenni Dye, research director at One Wisconsin Now and member of the Dane County Board of Supervisors, in which Madison is found. “It’s incredibly important in this period of time to have local officials step up and say they are committed to and will fight for broader access. It keeps the dialogue going.” [RH Reality Check, 03/19/2015]

One Wisconsin Now is warning New Hampshire voters to beware this weekend when Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker visits to audition for the 2016 Republican Presidential nomination. Behind Walker’s rhetoric of economic recovery and courageous, principled action is a trail of deceit, cronyism, corruption and incompetence that includes a sagging state economy, mismanaged budgets, criminal investigations and payoffs to special interests – topped off with politically expedient flip-flops pandering to the most extreme Tea Party wing of the GOP.

[One Wisconsin Now, 03/15/2015]

In four mere months since his last election, Gov. Walker has reversed his public position to pander to the most extreme Tea Party elements in the nation on immigration, abortion, workplace rights and ethanol in service of his personal political ambitions [Capital Times, 03/12/2015]

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani recently questioned President Obama’s love for his country, stating at a private dinner for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, ” do not believe that the president loves America … He wasn’t brought up the way you … and I (were) brought up through love of this country.” “It’s necessary to criticize (Obama) when he fails to measure up to his own principles (as well as) in those places he seems to be deviating from what is appropriate for an elected official, (like) drone attacks and wire taps,” Scott Paeth, DePaul professor of religious studies, said.

[TheDePaulia, 03/08/2015]

“Shifting his tone to reassure social conservatives, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker declared Tuesday that he intends to sign a state law in the coming months that bans abortion after 20 weeks. In an open letter to the Susan B. Anthony List, the likely Republican presidential candidate also said that he supports “similar legislation” now stalled in Congress. “My policies throughout my career have earned a 100 percent rating with pro-life groups in Wisconsin,” Walker writes. “As the Wisconsin legislature moves forward in the coming session, further protections for mother and child are likely to come to my desk in the form of a bill to prohibit abortions after 20 weeks. I will sign that bill when it gets to my desk and support similar legislation on the federal level.”

[Politico, 03/03/2015]

“Life is a value I learned from my parents, and it’s a value I have cherished every day, predating my time in politics. My policies throughout my career have earned a 100% rating with pro-life groups in Wisconsin. Just in my first term I signed numerous pieces of pro-life legislation and I will continue working for every life...We prohibited abortion from being covered by health plans in a health exchange.”

[Scott Walker letter to SBA List, 03/03/2015]

Gov. Scott Walker refused to say Wednesday whether he believes in the theory of evolution. One Wisconsin Now, a liberal advocacy group that tracks Walker's statements, said they had no record of him previously addressing his beliefs on evolution. [Associated Press, 02/11/2015]

One Wisconsin Now, a liberal advocacy group that tracks Walker’s statements, said they had no record of his previously addressing his beliefs on evolution. [Associated Press, 02/11/2015]

“NEWCAP and Family Planning Health Services, as well as other organizations that provide reproductive health services in the state, contend they were paid for contraceptives and other prescription drugs at a rate agreed upon and set by the Department of Health Services in 2009. "We've been following the instructions we have been given, and we've been following them for five years," said Molly Fuller, president and chief executive of Family Planning Health Services. All of the family planning clinics, including those run by Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, are paid the same rate by the state. "We are all doing it the same way," said Nicole Safar, director of policy and legal advocacy for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. The Office of the Inspector General's contention, first reported by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, has raised more questions than answers. How could the clinics overbill for contraceptives and other prescription drugs when the state sets the payment rate? And if the state did pay the clinics too much for the drugs, how could it go undetected for five years? The Department of Health Services isn't saying. The department declined to comment on the audits or explain how it pays family planning clinics for birth-control bills and other prescription drugs. Nor has it answered questions raised by the family planning organizations in their response to the audits.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12/12/2014]

Molotov In an undated letter posted by the Capital Times Wednesday, Walker wrote to a constituent that he would be happy to display a menorah at the Milwaukee County Courthouse. At the time, he was serving as county executive. But what stands out most is his closing line. From the letter: Thank you for your letter regarding the Menorah Display. Yes we would be happy to display the Menorah celebrating "The Eight Days of Chanukah" here at the Courthouse. [...] Thank you again and Molotov.

[Huffington Post, 12/10/2014]

Planned Parenthood Public policy director Nicole Safar called the audits “clinic-closing” and said she was concerned the clinics were being targeted for political reasons. Department of Health Services Inspector General Alan White defended his auditors’ choice of targets and their findings. The drug billing program at issue is about $110 million a year of the $7 billion Medicaid budget...In preliminary findings issued to the nonprofits in August, Office of Inspector General auditors wrote that Family Planning Health Services Inc. overbilled Medicaid by $2.3 million, and NEWCAP Inc. by $1.2 million, from 2010 to 2011...FPHS and NEWCAP have responded and are waiting to hear back from the OIG. If the agency sends a notice of intent to recover money, the groups can appeal. The auditors are challenging a reimbursement price for oral contraception that providers say the state itself set and is what their peers use.”... ...Two Democratic lawmakers, Rep Chris Taylor of Madison and Sen Dave Hansen of Green Bay, wrote the [Office of Inspector General] on Oct. 27 saying “there appears to be no legal basis” for the claims. They asked the office to produce a list of open audits to prove it is not disproportionately targeting providers serving or staffed by women. White would not answer how NEWCAP and FPHS specifically were chosen for audits but denied that it was political. There were no complaints of fraud against NEWCAP or FPHS, or claims that they did not provide the birth control. [Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, 11/01/2014]

“Two Democratic lawmakers, Rep Chris Taylor of Madison and Sen Dave Hansen of Green Bay, wrote the [Office of Inspector General] on Oct. 27 saying “there appears to be no legal basis” for the claims. They asked the office to produce a list of open audits to prove it is not disproportionately targeting providers serving or staffed by women. White would not answer how NEWCAP and FPHS specifically were chosen for audits but denied that it was political. There were no complaints of fraud against NEWCAP or FPHS, or claims that they did not provide the birth control.” [Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, 11/01/2014]

“The ad alludes to a July 2013 Wisconsin law that requires women seeking an abortion to get an ultrasound -- either transabdominally, which is done externally, or transvaginally. Wisconsin is among two dozen states that require an ultrasound before an abortion is performed. In Wisconsin, exceptions are made in cases of sexual assault or medical emergency. The governor’s office praised the measure, saying it "improves a woman's ability to make an informed choice that will protect her physical and mental health now and in the future." The law was opposed by the Wisconsin Medical Society, among others. The society said the measure as a "direct infringement on the patient-physician relationship" and for injecting "non-evolving government mandates into medical science."...The law doesn’t mandate transvaginal ultrasounds, rather it says the woman seeking an abortion can choose either a transvaginal or transabdominal ultrasound. But medical professionals say that the new requirement, as a practical matter, means some women have to get a transvaginal ultrasound.”

[Politifact, 10/24/2014]

“Just like his wink and nod with the radicals at Pro-Life Wisconsin, Gov. Walker's trying to have it both ways,” Ross said. “It's a pattern of deception from Gov. Walker, a career politician who is willing to mislead the people he's supposed to serve to advance his own political ambitions.” [Capital Times, 10/22/2014]

Walker has led the way on a "no exceptions" stance for Wisconsin in the past. As a state lawmaker, in 1998, he co-authored a bill that would have banned abortions after 20 weeks, even in cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s health was in jeopardy. Physicians who performed the procedure would have faced life in prison. In 2010, he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial board that he is completely opposed to abortion, even in cases of rape or incest.

[Capital Times, 10/14/2014]

Pro-Life Wisconsin issued its own endorsement list in July, before the Aug. 12 primary election, followed by a narrowed list for the Nov. 4 general election. Most notably, the group did not publicly endorse any candidates in the races for attorney general, lieutenant governor or governor for the primary or general elections...The liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now, which raised questions about the claim of the endorsement, also noted the language on the page appears to be nearly identical language copied from previous Walker campaign websites. The language has been hosted on ScottWalker.com since the domain was changed from ScottWalker.org in January 2014. The same "values" description was on the ScottWalker.org website during Walker's recall campaign in 2012. [Capital Times, 10/10/2014]

One Wisconsin Now executive director Scot Ross said touting the endorsement of a group that didn't grant it for this election is an example of “the alarming pattern of deception with Scott Walker when it comes to women's health,” noting the governor's past support of Pro-Life Wisconsin and of laws the group supports. [Capital Times, 10/10/2014]

 In a recent campaign television ad Gov. Scott Walker, on record as opposed to abortion even in cases of rape or incest, speaks directly to the camera and tries to minimize the impact of “the bill”. Based on his long track record of supporting, authoring, voting for and signing into law measures that restrict women's access to healthcare services including abortion, One Wisconsin Now is asking Gov. Walker to clarify which bill he was referring to in his TV ad.

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/10/2014]

 In an attempt to appear moderate while also keeping his 2016 Republican presidential primary ambitions alive, career politician Scott Walker has taken to the airwaves and the internet to try to cover up his extreme views, while also touting them. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross noted that Gov. Walker's 20-year demonstrated record of extremism on women's reproductive health issues and a “100 percent” rating from an extremist group are at odds with his new TV ad in which he speaks directly to camera.

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/10/2014]

“A fifth Planned Parenthood health center closed in Wisconsin on Thursday due to state budget cuts that directed family planning money away from the provider. The Fond du Lac clinic did not provide abortion services. It offered birth control, sexually transmitted disease testing and treatment, pregnancy tests, annual exams and breast cancer screenings to over 1,000 patients a year. A spokesperson for the clinic blamed the closure directly on Gov. Scott Walker (R), whose 2011-2013 budget eliminated over $1 million in state funding to Planned Parenthood clinics.”

[Huffington Post, 09/25/2014]

“Amid allegations Wisconsin has been incorrectly applying the U.S. Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby ruling to state insurance law, a spokesman with the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance Thursday clarified statements made throughout the week and said the state is still enforcing its Contraceptive Equity Law. “We are enforcing it — the state contraceptive mandate — except where it is preempted under federal law by the accommodation under the Affordable Care Act,” spokesman J.P. Wieske said Thursday.” [Capital Times, 07/25/2014]

“On Monday, a spokesperson from Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s administration told the conservative website Media Trackers that Wisconsin will no longer require employers to follow the state law mandating coverage. Current state law in Wisconsin mandates that companies with insurance plans covering certain services, like outpatient care, preventive treatment, and prescription drugs, must also cover contraceptives approved by the Food and Drug Administration and prescribed by a health-care provider.”

[RH Reality Check, 07/25/2014]

 In his first state budget in 2011, Gov. Scott Walker unsuccessfully attempted to repeal the state law guaranteeing contraceptive equity for women in their health care. This week the Walker administration announced it is halting enforcement of Wisconsin’s equity law, using the Hobby Lobby decision as justification, despite being quoted as saying, “It really hasn’t been an issue for us.”

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/23/2014]

“The Wisconsin Well Woman Program provides preventative health screening services to low-income women who are uninsured or underinsured. It has been credited with providing more than 500,000 breast and cervical cancer screenings to more than 70,000 women. The system is designed to help women locally, with a "coordinating agency" in each of the state's 72 counties aimed at helping women navigate the system of more than 1,000 participating providers. But in December, the state Department of Health Services notified participants that the entire system was set to change on July 1, blaming the Affordable Care Act...Under the new system, there would be only five to 10 coordinating agencies in the state, and only a handful of health care providers. Although the restructuring was set to go into effect in just a few months, the state hadn't said who those providers would be, causing significant consternation among advocates, coordinators, providers and patients who were unable to schedule follow-up appointments because they didn't know which doctors would be available and how far they might have to travel.” [Huffington Post, 03/21/2014]

“Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's (R) administration announced Friday evening that it was delaying its controversial restructuring of a popular health care program for low-income women, after an outcry from women's health advocates..." Stakeholders in the provider and coordinator communities have reached out to us with questions, concerns, and suggestions about how the proposed model would work. We have listened carefully, and have modified our original proposal based on those concerns," McKeown wrote to local health offices, WWWP providers and WWWP coordinators. By Dec. 1, the state will begin to select the providers who will form the new network. By April 1, 2015, it plans to have the new structure of providers and regional coordinators in place, with everything up and running by July.”

[Huffington Post, 03/21/2014]

Nearly 15,000 individuals have voiced their opposition to the anti-woman agenda of Gov. Walker and the state big business lobby, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, signing an online petition telling them to, “Respect Wisconsin Women.” EMILY's List, the nation's largest resource for women in politics, and One Wisconsin Now sponsored the effort.

[One Wisconsin Now, 11/09/2013]

“Gov. Scott Walker signed a bill Friday requiring doctors who perform abortions to have hospital admitting privileges, and abortion clinics responded by immediately suing state officials over the measure. The law — signed Friday by Walker in a private ceremony — would cut the number of clinics offering abortions in Wisconsin from four to two, and one of the remaining clinics would have to dramatically cut the number of abortions it provides, according to the operators of the clinics. "When women don't have access to safe, legal abortions, there are health consequences and women die," said Teri Huyck, president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 07/05/2013]

Gov. Scott Walker quietly signed a contentious Republican bill Friday that would require women seeking abortions to undergo an ultrasound and ban doctors who lack admitting privileges at nearby hospitals from performing the procedures. Opponents contend legislators shouldn't force women to undergo any medical procedure and the bill will force two abortion clinics where providers lack admitting privileges to shut their doors. The law takes effect Monday. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit within hours of the signing alleging the bill is unconstitutional and asking for a temporary restraining order blocking the measure.”

[Politico, 07/05/2013]

In his twenty years in office, Scott Walker has amassed a truly astounding record of failure. To commemorate the looming anniversary of his first election to office, One Wisconsin Now is highlighting a different and depressing failure of Gov. Walker every day, for twenty days. The title “Governor of the State of Wisconsin” suggests that the holder of the office would consider the diversity of the entire state's population. As judged by his actions in office, Scott Walker has clearly failed in this regard.

[One Wisconsin Now, 06/20/2013]

In his twenty years in office, Scott Walker has amassed a truly astounding record of failure. To commemorate the looming anniversary of his first election to office, One Wisconsin Now is highlighting a different and depressing failure of Gov. Walker every day, for twenty days. In today's installment, as the Republican controlled legislature is poised to adopt even more radical, right-wing legislation attacking women's health care, the lowlights of Gov. Walker's abysmal record on the issue are up.

[One Wisconsin Now, 06/14/2013]

OWN is highlighting different Walker fails over the course of 20 days. Day two discusses right wing legislation attacking women’s health care. Scot Ross commented, “When given the choice between protecting women’s access to safe and legal health care services or pandering to the most extreme right-wing of the Republican Party, Scott Walker has sided with the extremists over Wisconsin women every time.”

[Common Dreams, 06/10/2013]

“Planned Parenthood will be closing four rural Wisconsin locations between April and July because the nonprofit health care organization has lost $1.1 million in state funding, officials announced Monday. The centers in Beaver Dam, Johnson Creek, Chippewa Falls and Shawano don't get enough private funding to stay financially viable without the state support, which the Legislature eliminated in the 2011-'13 state budget. The locations are the only reproductive health care providers in their communities, officials said during a conference call from Madison...Planned Parenthood officials stressed that the $1.1 million the organization lost in state funding for nine counties mainly paid for infrastructure costs. The money was never used to provide abortion services, which would have been against state and federal laws, officials said.”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 02/18/2013]

Wisconsin Campaign Finance Information System records show Green made a donation of $1,000 to Friends of Scott Walker on May 16, 2012. Hobby Lobby is well-known for their challenge of the Affordable Care Act, specifically regarding provisions requiring coverage for contraceptives. [Government Accountability Board, 05/16/2012]

“Gov. Scott Walker signed four bills relating to women’s reproductive health and pay equality without the usual public fanfare last Thursday, a move that came under fire from Democrats and advocacy groups. Walker signed the four bills into law on Thursday and announced their signing, along with 47 other bills, in a statement released the following day. The first three bills relate to abortions in the state, and the fourth relates to women’s health issues, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau. One piece of legislation repeals Wisconsin’s Healthy Youth Act.”

[Badger Herald, 04/09/2012]

Walker, a Republican, signed the bills Thursday but didn't announce the move until midday Friday, when his office released a list of more than 50 bills he signed Thursday and Friday...Walker also signed a bill that prohibits workers from collecting damages in employment discrimination cases. Under current state law, employees who prevail in discrimination lawsuits can collect between $50,000 and $300,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. The Republican bill blocks anyone from collecting such damages in employment discrimination suits. The state Department of Workforce Development could still award an employee back pay, costs and attorney fees, however. Democrats say the bill hurts women who might suffer discrimination in the workplace. [Wisconsin State Journal, 04/07/2012]

“On April 5, 2012, Governor Walker signed into law SB 92, a bill prohibiting plans in a state exchange from offering abortion coverage, except in cases of rape, incest, or to avert severe physical impairment or death of the pregnant woman.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, 04/05/2012]

“The day after a recall campaign was launched against Gov. Scott Walker in November, Foster Friess gave the governor $100,000. Friess is the wealthy supporter of socially conservative causes -- and Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum -- who infamously stated on MSNBC earlier this month that an aspirin could double as birth control for a woman. "You know, back in my days, they'd use Bayer aspirin for contraceptives," he said. "The gals put it between their knees, and it wasn't that costly." In October 2010, Friess gave Walker $4,600. The same month his wife, Lynnette, gave him $6,100.” [Isthmus, 02/29/2012]

“Beth Kaplan, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health Services, told Mother Jones that no decision has been made on the contract and would not comment on why it might not be continued. But Tanya Atkinson, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, says they were told that the state is cutting them out of the program. "They have very clearly stated that they were ending the contract with us," she says. (UPDATE: Walker himself has confirmed that the state is ending its contract with Planned Parenthood...The move puts in question what will happen to the more than 1,000 women that access the Well Woman Program through Planned Parenthood in Winnebago, Fond du Lac, Sheboygan, and Outagamie counties every year.)

[Mother Jones, 12/16/2011]

Schools in Wisconsin that teach sex education would be required to promote abstinence and marriage under a bill passed by the state Senate Wednesday night on a party-line vote. The controversial Republican-backed legislation would dismantle a new state law passed by Democrats last year, which requires schools that offer sex education to include information about contraceptives. The new measure wouldn't ban teaching about contraception, but it would require schools offering sex ed to stress abstinence as the only reliable way to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. [Wisconsin State Journal, 11/03/2011]

“Among measures cheered by anti-abortion groups, the 2011-13 biennial budget prohibits any entity that provides abortions at any of its facilities from participating in the state's family planning program. The change renders Planned Parenthood, which performs abortions at three Wisconsin sites, ineligible for those funds and means an annual loss of about $1 million to that organization…Harrington said the loss of the family planning money "seriously jeopardizes" the future of nine Planned Parenthood health centers in the state that do not perform abortions but provide thousands of uninsured men and women with services such as cancer screenings and breast exams.”

[Wisconsin State Journal, 07/03/2011]

“Require that DHS distribute women's health funds only to public entities. Allow a public entity that receives women's health funds to provide some or all of those funds to other public or private entities, provided that the recipient of these funds does not do any of the following: (a) provide abortion services; (b) make referrals for abortion services; or (c) have an affiliate that provides abortion services or makes referrals for abortion services.” [Legislative Fiscal Bureau, 06/30/2011]

“Walker also is keeping in place a budget provision that would bar the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority from providing abortions, despite claims by some that it could put at risk the university's accreditation for its obstetrics and gynecology program. Walker said he did not believe the university would lose that accreditation. "I feel strongly that taxpayer dollars should not support the performance of elective abortions," he wrote.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 06/26/2011]

A provision inserted in the state budget would prohibit UW Hospital and Clinics from funding abortions, but it's unclear whether that will stop the hospital from offering required abortion experience to doctors-in-training. Abortions are not performed at UW Hospital and Clinics, but obstetrics and gynecology residents train at Planned Parenthood to learn about family planning, which includes the opportunity to perform abortions. State law currently prohibits the use of public funds to pay physicians to perform abortions with few exceptions, but the new legislation specifically targets UW Hospital and Clinics. UW Hospital and Clinics is a public authority and does not receive state funding. Hospital officials argue they are not funding abortions because they are conducted off-site, at Planned Parenthood, and Meriter Hospital pays for that portion of the residents' training. [Wisconsin State Journal, 06/22/2011]

Dr. Carl Getto, senior vice president for medical affairs at UW Hospital, said he doesn't know if the proposed law means they would need to stop offering abortion training. If it does, Getto said the legislation could jeopardize national accreditation for the obstetrics and gynecology training program. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requires that residents have access to experience with induced abortion. Residents with religious or moral objections are allowed to opt out, although they must learn how to manage the complications of an abortion, he said. "The OB/GYN residency requires that all graduates of an accredited program have the knowledge and competence in the full range of family planning," Getto said. "That includes terminations and the complications." UW Health leaders sent a letter to Gov. Scott Walker asking him to veto the provision. They also charge that the legislation sets a dangerous precedent by establishing UW Hospital money as "funds of this state." [Wisconsin State Journal, 06/22/2011]

The Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the state’s domestic partnership registry Thursday, ensuring same-sex couples will retain certain rights no matter how a federal court rules on the state’s constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. In a unanimous decision written by Justice N. Patrick Crooks, the court emphasized that proponents of the amendment, including Wisconsin Family Action executive director Julaine Appling, the lead plaintiff in the case, and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, made public statements in 2006 that the marriage amendment wouldn’t prevent the Legislature from granting certain rights to same-sex couples.

[Capital Times, 03/24/2011]

After his 2010 election Walker fired Pines, leaving defense of the law up to gay rights advocate Fair Wisconsin and other interested parties that had intervened in the case. Pines said Thursday the state paid his firm $75,000 between Oct. 29, 2009, and June 28, 2011, for work on the case.

[Capital Times, 03/24/2011]

Gov. Scott Walker has fired the lawyers defending the state in a challenge to Wisconsin's domestic partnership law. But the governor's spokesman said his office "is still working to appoint a new counsel to the case." Madison attorney Lester Pines informed Dane County Circuit Judge Daniel Moeser in a March 22 letter that his firm, Cullen Weston Pines & Bach, had been "terminated" by Walker as counsel for the state in the lawsuit filed in 2009 by Julaine Appling, president of Wisconsin Family Action, a conservative advocacy group.

[Capital Times, 03/24/2011]

“Gov. Scott Walker wants to again give insurance companies discretion over whether they will cover contraception. His budget, released Tuesday, proposes the elimination of a recently passed law that requires insurance plans that cover prescription drugs to also include coverage for prescription birth control. Walker’s budget summary says the requirement is an “unacceptable government mandate on employers with moral objections to these services,” and that it “increases the cost of health insurance for all payers.” [Capital Times, 03/02/2011]

“Barrett’s campaign, though, points to the first question on the survey: ‘Would you sign legislation that declares that a preborn child has an inalienable right to life from the moment of fertilization forward?...Did Walker know about -- and agree with -- the group’s views on birth control as causing abortion?For the 2010 election, candidates were given survey instructions and a memo entitled "Hormonal Birth Control and its Abortion Causing Effect," according to Sande. That memo clearly lays out the group’s view that "any artificial action that works to destroy a human embryo is abortifacient in nature." It lumps "most if not all birth control drugs and devices" into that category. Sande downplays the chances Pro-Life Wisconsin will succeed in its anti birth-control agenda because it believes society is not ready for it. But a birth control ban is the group’s aim. Its mechanism to get there is "personhood" legislation -- Question 1 on the candidate survey.’”

[Politifact, 11/01/2010]

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker refuses to admit he would support a ban on embryonic stem cell research if elected governor, but Walker told supporters in 2005 he would have signed a bill Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed at the time that was a direct threat to embryonic stem cell research. Walker told his supporters of the ban in the November 10, 2005 “Walker Weekly,” an electronic newsletter during his failed previous bid for governor.

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/19/2010]

Walker opposes abortion, including in instances of rape and incest. He's against a state program that uses state and federal money to provide birth control to girls as young as 15 and says government shouldn't take the place of parents on such matters. He supports allowing pharmacists to refuse to fill emergency contraception prescriptions on moral grounds. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/02/2010]

Walker received the endorsement of Pro-Life Wisconsin. In 2010, the survey included the question, “Would you sign legislation that bans abortion in all cases? (Pro-Life Wisconsin supports legal protection for all preborn babies, including those conceived in rape and incest. If a physician claims that a mother’s life may be in danger, PLW opposes direct abortion and supports equal care for mother and child. Please see the enclosed memo on why a “life of the mother” exception is dangerous and unnecessary.)” [Pro-Life Wisconsin, 06/22/2010]

The Pro-Life Wisconsin Victory Fund Political Action Committee (PAC) today announced its dual endorsement of Mark Neumann and Scott Walker for Wisconsin governor....Pro-Life Wisconsin Victory Fund supports candidates for public office who demonstrate a commitment to protect each and every innocent human life – in all circumstances and at all stages of development. To be “100% pro-life” is to know that a human life begins at fertilization and that there may never be a legal exception to an innocent child’s inalienable right to life.”

[Pro-Life Wisconsin, 06/22/2010]

As noted in articles above, Pro-Life Wisconsin requires a 100% rating to receive their endorsement. Walker won the endorsement in 2010 by answering yes to this question, among others: “1. Would you sign legislation that bans abortion in all cases? (Pro-Life Wisconsin supports legal protection for all preborn babies, including those conceived in rape and incest. If a physician claims that a mother’s life may be in danger, PLW opposes direct abortion and supports equal care for mother and child. Please see the enclosed memo on why a “life of the mother” exception is dangerous and unnecessary.)”

[Pro-Life Wisconsin candidate survey, 01/01/2010]

A Milwaukee County Board committee on Monday recommended that the full board sustain County Executive Scott Walker's veto of a measure that would lay the groundwork for granting domestic partner health benefits to county employees. The Personnel Committee voted 5-2 to uphold Walker's Nov. 16 veto. Walker and other opponents of the domestic partners measure said the benefit would be too costly at a time when the county faces serious budget problems.”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12/14/2009]

“I’ve had concerns about (county benefits) in general because of the cost. Quite frankly, I think people are fed up with a number of benefits given at the county level. The last thing we can do is be adding even more to it.”

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 04/21/2002]

At age 7, Scott Walker formed a ‘Jesus USA’ club in tiny Plainfield, Iowa, a farming community a half hour north of Waterloo where his father was the local Baptist pastor … The young Walker mounted a successful door-to-door fund drive for a state flag for the village hall, recalls Walker's father, the Rev. Llewelyn Walker.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 03/29/2002]

The proposal would have prohibited funding for or allowing school based programs to distribute or prescribe contraceptives. [2001 AB 653, 06/05/2001]

“Pharmacists could refuse to fill birth control prescriptions if doing so violates their moral or ethical beliefs under a bill before a state committee. The "conscience clause bill" (AB 168) introduced by Rep. Scott Walker, R-Wauwatosa, is aimed at the so-called "morning after" pill, which stops a pregnancy after unprotected sex, and the abortion drug RU-486. But it also would allow pharmacists to refuse to dispense most other forms of birth control, since in some cases things like the pill or intrauterine device (IUD) can prevent the implantation of fertilized eggs. "No person should be forced to engage in the destruction of another person's life, no matter the stage of development," Walker said.”

[Wisconsin State Journal, 04/12/2001]

Provisions of bill would have required women seeking an abortion to be told they could “anonymously and with immunity from liability relinquish custody of her newborn child to a law enforcement officer, an emergency medical technician, or a hospital staff member when the newborn child is 72 hours old or younger.”

[2001 AB 450, 01/01/2001]

Walker’s proposal does permit state and local government employees to perform an abortion or assist in its performance to save the life of the mother, a concession that the procedure can be medically necessary. Yet, he would have medical students receiving no instruction in the subject. Which doesn’t compute. No medically necessary procedures should be declared off limits by legislators. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 06/29/1999]

“Teaching any abortion-related topic or abortion technique in Wisconsin's medical schools would be prohibited by a measure to be added to the state budget by Assembly Republicans. The budget addition, already approved by the Assembly Republican caucus, is scheduled to be approved on an Assembly floor vote next week, but will have a hard time passing the Democrat-controlled Senate. It would bar public employees and public facilities from promoting or engaging in abortion or abortion-related activities, and make them subject to a $1,000 fine for each offense. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Scott Walker, R-Wauwatosa, also affects local, publicly owned clinics as well as school counselors and nurses who might discuss abortion with pregnant students.” [Capital Times, 06/24/1999]

This bill expands the definition of employment discrimination based on creed to include discriminating against a health care provider on the basis of his or her refusal, based on creed, to participate in any of the following activities: 1) sterilization procedures; 2) certain procedures that prevent the implantation of a fertilized human ovum; 3) abortions; 4) experiments or medical procedures that involve the destruction of a human embryo or that involve a human embryo or unborn child but do not relate to the beneficial treatment of the human embryo or unborn child; 5) procedures using fetal tissue or organs other than fetal tissue or organs from a stillbirth, spontaneous abortion, or miscarriage; 6) withholding or withdrawing nutrition or hydration under certain circumstances; or 7) acts causing or assisting in the death of an individual, including assisted suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing. There is no exception for an employer to show that the refusal poses an undue hardship. [2001 AB 168, 01/01/1999]

The bill banned “the use of funds for family planning services and pregnancy counseling to prescribe, dispense or administer a contraceptive prescription drug or device to a minor without parental notification.”

[1999 AB 632, 01/01/1999]

According to the Legislative Reference Bureau analysis, “This bill creates new prohibitions against using public employes and public property for abortion-related activity. First, the bill provides that no person employed by this state, by a state agency or by a local governmental unit may, while acting within the scope of his or her employment, provide abortion services; promote, encourage or counsel in favor of abortion services; or make abortion referrals either directly or through an intermediary in any instance other than when an abortion is directly and medically necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman.” [1997 AB 740, 06/05/1997]

According to the Legislative Reference Bureau analysis, the bill expanded “the definition of employment discrimination based on creed to include discriminating against a health care provider on the basis of his or her written refusal, based on creed, to participate in any of the following activities:

1. sterilization procedures;
2. certain procedures that prevent the implantation of a fertilized human ovum;
3. abortions;
4. experiments or medical procedures that involve the destruction of a human embryo or that involve a human embryo or unborn child but do not relate to the beneficial treatment of the human embryo or unborn child;
5. procedures using fetal tissue or organs;
6. withholding or withdrawing nutrition or hydration under certain circumstances; or
7. acts causing or assisting in the death of an individual, including assisted suicide, euthanasia or mercy killing. There is no exception for an employer to show that the refusal poses an undue hardship.”

[1997 AB 953, 06/05/1997]

The bill prohibited same sex marriages from occurring in Wisconsin and prohibited the state from recognizing a same sex marriage performed in another state where it was legal. (Assembly Journal)

[1997 AB 104, 05/13/1997]

The bill “creates an immunity from a wrongful birth or wrongful life action for a person who commits an act or fails to commit an act and that act or omission results in the birth of a child because a woman did not undergo an abortion that she would have undergone had the person not committed the act or not failed to commit the act.” [1997 AB 538; 1999 AB 535; 2001 AB 360, 01/01/1997]

The bill cut off any state funding for pro-choice groups and prohibited a state employee while acting within the scope of his or her employment from providing abortion services, promoting, encouraging or counseling in favor of abortion services or make abortion referrals either directly or through an intermediary in any instance other than when an abortion is directly and medically necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman. The bill also prohibited public property from being used in connection with providing or facilitating abortions.

[1997 AB 740, 01/01/1997]

The bill proposed allowing doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care workers to refuse to participate in sterilization, abortion, assisted suicide and other procedures or dispensing emergency contraception or birth control based on their personal religious or moral beliefs.

[1997 AB 953, 01/01/1997]

Walker sponsored 1997 Assembly Bill 220 to criminally ban an abortion procedure that included an exception for the life of the mother, but not her health.

[1997 WI Act 219, 01/01/1997]

“I won’t shy away from the fact that it had appeal to myself and other conservative members who don’t believe we should fund this, but the broad appeal was financial.”

[Capital Times, 07/17/1995]

According to the Legislative Reference Bureau, the bill, which was signed into law, deleted requirements “for provision of information on the availability of public and private agencies to provide birth control information and on the availability of services to assist a minor in seeking consent for the abortion or in petitioning a court for a waiver of the consent requirement.” The final version of the bill specified numerous items that a physician must review with the patient 24 hours before an abortion, the Legislative Reference Bureau Analysis for which appears below.

1. The name of the physician who will perform or induce the abortion.
2. The probable anatomical and physiological characteristics of the unborn child at the time that the information is given.3. The details of the medical or surgical method that will be used in performing or inducing the abortion.
3. That fetal ultrasound imaging and auscultation of fetal heart tone services are available that enable a pregnant woman to view the image or hear the heartbeat of her unborn child and how the woman may obtain these services if she desires to do so.
4. That if, in the reasonable medical judgment of the physician, the woman's unborn child has reached viability, the physician is required to take all steps necessary under current law to preserve and maintain the life and health of the child.
5. Any other information that a reasonable patient would consider material and relevant to a decision of whether or not to carry a child to birth or to undergo an abortion.
6. That the woman may withdraw her consent to have an abortion at any time before the abortion is performed or induced.
7. That the woman is not required to pay for performance or inducement of the abortion until at least 24 hours have elapsed after provision of the information.

[1995 AB 441, 06/05/1995]

The bill, signed in to law in May 1996, expanded “requirements for a woman's informed consent for performance or inducement of an abortion and for consent to a minor's obtaining an abortion and providing a penalty”

[1995 WI Act 309, 01/01/1995]

The bill created a “series of crimes providing penalties, based on current law, for persons who cause death, great bodily harm or harm to an unborn child.”

[1995 AB 146, 01/01/1995]

The bill would have banned the state group insurance board from providing group health insurance coverage for abortion to employees in the Wisconsin retirement system.

[1993 SB 727, 01/01/1993]