Wisconsin Republicans are advancing legislation that would require doctors prescribing abortion medication to send patients home with a “catch kit,” a medical waste bag, and instructions for returning fetal remains. Physicians who don’t comply would face criminal penalties, and drug manufacturers could be held liable for improper disposal under the state’s environmental laws.
The bill, introduced by Sen. André Jacque, R-New Franken, and Reps. Lindee Brill, R-Sheboygan Falls, and Nate Gustafson, R-Omro, is part of a growing national call to ensure safe drinking water. “The people of Wisconsin deserve clean water and an assurance that harmful endocrine disruptors and pathological waste does not contaminate our lakes, streams, rivers, and wetlands,” the lawmakers said in a memo seeking cosponsors, as reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Groups such as Students for Life have pushed similar measures in other states and in Congress, claiming remnants of the pill mifepristone could enter waterways as more abortions occur at home. Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejected a petition from Students for Life, writing, “The Petition offers only conjecture… Specifically, the Petition provides no evidence showing that bodily fluid from patients who have used mifepristone (a one-time, single-dose drug product) is causing harm to the nation’s aquatic environment.”
Democrats dismissed the Wisconsin proposal as an attempt to restrict reproductive care under a new guise. State Senate Democratic Committee spokesman Will Karcz blasted the legislation as “super creepy.” (RELATED: Wisconsin Republicans Look To Ban Some Junk Foods From SNAP)
Under existing state law, medication abortions already face tight rules: patients must undergo an in-person exam, and the medication must be taken in the prescribing physician’s presence. Violations carry fines of up to $10,000 and potential prison time. The new bill would layer on environmental enforcement by directing the Department of Natural Resources to monitor for endocrine-disrupting drugs in water systems and allowing fines of up to $20,000 per violation for drug manufacturers.
Jacque defended the proposal by pointing to past chemicals once considered safe, including PFAS and lead, that were later found to be harmful. He called the bill “an extension” of his water-quality work and said he hopes lawmakers “can work together to find solutions to protect the health and safety of our citizens, wildlife and state waters.”
Similar proposals have stalled in other states, and Gov. Tony Evers has pledged to veto any measure restricting abortion access.
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