Abortion Rights Activists Mobilize At State Capitol

Activists protested a new abortion law at the state Capitol yesterday, declaring it part of a national trend aimed at eliminating abortion rights.

The rally was one of several across the country sparked by the passage of legislation restricting abortion in Texas. But protesters also targeted the Wisconsin legislation. Madison resident Marivic Valencia says she came because she was born in 1973 – the year the Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade, guaranteeing women a right to a legal abortion. She has five daughters.

“It’s just always been a given for me and my children,” she says.

Valencia is worried about proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would grant personhood to a fetus. Pro Life Wisconsin spokesman Matt Sande backs the measure. He says the goal is make sure abortion is outlawed in the state if and when Roes Vs. Wade is overturned.

“It simply extends the inalienable right to life already found in the Wisconsin Constitution to all pre-born children from the beginning of their lives,” says Sande.

Abortion rights activists like Maravic Valencia call the proposal absurd.

“If I am pregnant, do I get to then claim that six week fetus on my taxes cause they’re a person and I haven’t had them yet? The whole thing is patently ridiculous,” says Valencia.

Tomorrow, a federal judge in Madison will consider blocking another state law that requires doctors performing abortions at state clinics to have admission rights at nearby hospitals.