Wisconsin Sex-Selective Abortion Ban (SB 201)

SB 201 would have prohibited knowingly performing a sex-selective abortion, which is defined as an abortion performed, requested, or sought solely because of the sex of the fetus.

The bill provides for civil liability and compensatory damages to the mother, father, or grandparent of the fetus. The bill also provides for injunctive relief to prevent the person who performed the sex-selective abortion from performing another sex-selective abortion.

Sex-selection abortions are not a widespread problem in the United States. However, anti-choice activists cite three studies documenting the use of sex-selection abortion primarily among a small number of immigrant women. The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum notes that a ban similar to the proposed Wisconsin ban “targets and thus limits reproductive health access for Asian American & Pacific Islander women, who anti-choicers say are the ones guilty of this abortion practice. We know the real solution to ending the preference for sons in some families is getting to the root of the problem: gender inequity. If lawmakers truly want to help us, we call on them to promote equal pay, access to education, health equity, and ending violence against women.”

STATUS

Companion bill to AB 217.

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