Abortion

Wisconsin’s One-Man Abortion Restriction Crew Preps New Bills

State Rep. Jacque must be preparing to win the "most anti-woman" award in the Wisconsin legislature this session.

State Rep. Andre Jacque (R-DePere). Wisconsin State Legislature Site

When it comes to proposing anti-women bills in Wisconsin, attention tends to focus on state Sen. Glenn “single parenting is child abuse” Grothmann (R-West Bend) or state Rep. Don “just remember he loves you when he beats you” Pridemore (R-Erin). But this year, state Rep. Andre Jacque (R-DePere) wants to be sure he is remembered too, and he plans to propose a plethora of anti-choice, anti-women legislation to make that happen.

Along with bills that will outlaw “the sale and use of body parts of aborted fetuses for medical research” and fund misleading crisis pregnancy centers with anti-choice license plates, Jacque told WisPolitics.com that he will introduce a “personhood” bill again this session, despite disagreement among anti-choice groups on whether such a bill would help their cause.

Jacque told the news site that “every legal opinion he’s seen indicates the measure would hold up to constitutional muster. ‘I certainly can respect that some of my colleagues have tried not to get in the middle of what really is a strategy dispute on this issue. But people know my intentions and they know the effort I put into legislation. And I don’t think anyone questions what my intent is or what is fairly convincing as to what the effects would be.’”

This from a politician who in 2011 spoke on the state house floor in support of a bill to defund Planned Parenthood and stop “the radical pro-abortion lobby,” despite the fact that no state funding went to abortion services. “We should end the day when Wisconsin and the nation’s largest abortion provider is the biggest recipient of maternal and child health funding,” said Jacque, who then used testimony from anti-choice activist Abby Johnson as proof that state funds “subsidized abortions.”

That defunding has now caused several clinics to close, none of which offered abortion.

It’s unclear if Jacque will see traction on the “personhood” bill during this legislative session; the slightly more mainstream anti-choice group Wisconsin Right to Life does not support the move to give fertilized eggs the same legal rights as people. If the bill doesn’t get anywhere, it seems he has many other anti-choice laws he can offer up instead.