2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
LRBb0700/1
SWB&JPC:emw
SENATE AMENDMENT 17,
TO SENATE SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 2,
TO SENATE BILL 45
July 2, 2025 - Offered by Senators Hesselbein, Roys, Habush Sinykin, Keyeski, Dassler-Alfheim, Wall, Ratcliff, Smith, Spreitzer, Pfaff, Drake, L. Johnson and Larson.
SB45-SSA2-SA17,1,54253.078 Right to contraception. (1) Short title. This section shall be 5known as the “Right to Contraception Act.” SB45-SSA2-SA17,1,66(2) Definitions. In this section: SB45-SSA2-SA17,1,97(a) “Contraception” means an action taken to prevent pregnancy, including 8the use of contraceptives or fertility-awareness-based methods and sterilization 9procedures. SB45-SSA2-SA17,2,510(b) “Contraceptive” means any drug, device, or biological product intended for 11use in the prevention of pregnancy, whether specifically intended to prevent
1pregnancy or for other health needs, that is legally marketed under the federal 2Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, such as oral contraceptives, long-acting reversible 3contraceptives, emergency contraceptives, internal and external condoms, 4injectables, vaginal barrier methods, transdermal patches, and vaginal rings, or 5other contraceptives. SB45-SSA2-SA17,2,66(c) “Health care provider” has the meaning given in s. 146.81 (1). SB45-SSA2-SA17,2,77(d) “Political subdivision” means a city, village, town, or county. SB45-SSA2-SA17,2,118(3) Permitted services. (a) A person has a statutory right under this 9section to obtain contraceptives and to engage in contraception, and a health care 10provider has a corresponding right to provide contraceptives, contraception, and 11contraception-related information. SB45-SSA2-SA17,2,1312(b) The statutory rights specified in par. (a) may not be limited or otherwise 13infringed through any limitation or requirement that does all of the following: SB45-SSA2-SA17,2,18141. Expressly, effectively, implicitly, or as implemented singles out the 15provision of contraceptives, contraception, or contraception-related information; 16health care providers who provide contraceptives, contraception, or contraception-17related information; or facilities in which contraceptives, contraception, or 18contraception-related information is provided. SB45-SSA2-SA17,2,20192. Impedes access to contraceptives, contraception, or contraception-related 20information. SB45-SSA2-SA17,2,2321(c) To defend against a claim that a limitation or requirement violates a 22health care provider’s or patient’s statutory rights under par. (b), a party must 23establish, by clear and convincing evidence, all of the following: SB45-SSA2-SA17,3,2
11. The limitation or requirement significantly advances the safety of 2contraceptives, contraception, and contraception-related information. SB45-SSA2-SA17,3,532. The safety of contraceptives, contraception, and contraception-related 4information or the health of patients cannot be advanced by a less restrictive 5alternative measure or action. SB45-SSA2-SA17,3,96(4) Applicability. (a) Neither the state nor any political subdivision of the 7state may administer, implement, or enforce any law, rule, regulation, standard, or 8other provision having the force and effect of law in a manner that does any of the 9following: SB45-SSA2-SA17,3,12101. Prohibits or restricts the sale, provision, or use of any contraceptives that 11have been approved by the federal food and drug administration for contraceptive 12purposes. SB45-SSA2-SA17,3,15132. Prohibits or restricts any person from aiding another person in obtaining 14any contraceptives approved by the federal food and drug administration or 15contraceptive methods. SB45-SSA2-SA17,3,19163. Exempts any contraceptives approved by the federal food and drug 17administration from any other generally applicable law in a way that would make it 18more difficult to sell, provide, obtain, or use those contraceptives or contraceptive 19methods. SB45-SSA2-SA17,3,2320(b) This section does not supersede or otherwise affect any provision relating 21to coverage under group health plans or group or individual health insurance 22coverage and may not be construed as requiring the provision of specific benefits 23under these plans or coverage. SB45-SSA2-SA17,4,3
1(c) An individual or entity who is subject to a limitation or requirement that 2violates this section may raise this section as a defense to any cause of action 3against the individual or entity. SB45-SSA2-SA17,4,54(5) Construction. (a) This section shall be liberally construed to effectuate 5its purposes. SB45-SSA2-SA17,4,66(b) Nothing in this section may be construed to do any of the following: SB45-SSA2-SA17,4,971. Authorize any government to interfere with a health care provider’s ability 8to provide contraceptives or contraception-related information or a person’s ability 9to obtain contraceptives or to engage in contraception. SB45-SSA2-SA17,4,11102. Permit or sanction the conduct of any sterilization procedure without the 11patient’s voluntary and informed consent. SB45-SSA2-SA17,4,1712(6) Enforcement. (a) The attorney general may commence a civil action on 13behalf of the state against any person that violates or enforces a limitation or 14requirement that violates this section. Notwithstanding s. 165.08 (1), in any civil 15action brought under this paragraph, the attorney general may compromise and 16settle the action as the attorney general determines to be in the best interest of the 17state. SB45-SSA2-SA17,4,2118(b) Any individual or entity, including any health care provider or patient, 19adversely affected by an alleged violation of this section may commence a civil 20action against any person that violates or implements or enforces a limitation or 21requirement that violates this section. SB45-SSA2-SA17,5,222(c) A health care provider may commence an action for relief on its own behalf,
1on behalf of the provider’s staff, and on behalf of the provider’s patients who are or 2may be adversely affected by an alleged violation of this section. SB45-SSA2-SA17,5,63(d) If a court finds that there has been a violation of this section, the court 4shall hold unlawful and set aside the limitation or requirement. In any action 5under this section, the court may award appropriate equitable relief, including 6temporary, preliminary, or permanent injunctive relief. SB45-SSA2-SA17,5,117(e) Notwithstanding the limitation under s. 814.04, in any action under this 8section, the court shall award to any prevailing plaintiff costs and reasonable 9attorney fees. Unless a court determines an action is frivolous, the court may not 10hold a plaintiff liable to a defendant for costs and attorney fees in an action under 11this section. SB45-SSA2-SA17,5,1413(1) Legislative findings; right to contraception. The legislature finds all 14of the following: SB45-SSA2-SA17,5,1715(a) The right to contraception is a fundamental right, central to a person’s 16privacy, health, well-being, dignity, liberty, equality, and ability to participate in the 17social and economic life of the state. SB45-SSA2-SA17,5,1918(b) The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized the constitutional 19right to contraception. SB45-SSA2-SA17,5,2120(c) In Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965), the U.S. Supreme Court 21first recognized the constitutional right for married people to use contraceptives. SB45-SSA2-SA17,6,222(d) In Eisenstadt v. Baird, 405 U.S. 438 (1972), the U.S. Supreme Court
1confirmed the constitutional right of all people to legally access contraceptives 2regardless of marital status. SB45-SSA2-SA17,6,43(e) In Carey v. Population Services International, 431 U.S. 678 (1977), the 4U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the constitutional right to contraceptives for minors. SB45-SSA2-SA17,6,155(f) The right to contraceptives is protected by the Wisconsin Constitution. See 6article I, section 1, of the Wisconsin Constitution; Haase v. Sawicki, 20 Wis. 2d 308, 7310 n.2 (1963) (finding that article I, section 1, of the Wisconsin Constitution is 8substantially the equivalent of the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection 9Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment); Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 484-1086 (1965) (finding that a prohibition on the use of contraceptives violates the right 11to privacy created by several fundamental constitutional guarantees under the U.S. 12Constitution); and Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558, 573-74 (2003) (finding that the 13Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects personal decisions 14relating to marriage, procreation, contraception, family relationships, child rearing, 15and education). SB45-SSA2-SA17,6,1916(g) The right to contraception has been repeatedly recognized internationally 17as a human right. The United Nations Population Fund has published several 18reports outlining family planning as a basic human right that advances women’s 19health, economic empowerment, and equality. SB45-SSA2-SA17,6,2220(h) Access to contraceptives is internationally recognized by the World Health 21Organization as advancing other human rights such as the right to life, liberty, 22expression, health, work, and education. SB45-SSA2-SA17,7,323(i) Contraception is safe, essential health care, and access to contraceptive
1products and services is central to people’s ability to participate equally in 2economic and social life. Contraception allows people to make decisions about their 3families and their lives. SB45-SSA2-SA17,7,74(j) Contraception is key to sexual and reproductive health. Contraception is 5critical to preventing unintended pregnancy, and many contraceptives are highly 6effective in preventing and treating a wide array of often severe medical conditions 7and decrease the risk of certain cancers. SB45-SSA2-SA17,7,108(k) Family planning improves health outcomes for women, their families, and 9their communities and reduces rates of maternal and infant mortality and 10morbidity. SB45-SSA2-SA17,7,1411(L) The United States has a long history of reproductive coercion, including 12the childbearing forced upon enslaved women, as well as the forced sterilization of 13Black women, Puerto Rican women, indigenous women, immigrant women, and 14disabled women, and reproductive coercion continues to occur. SB45-SSA2-SA17,7,2315(m) The right to make personal decisions about contraceptive use is important 16for all people, and is especially critical for historically marginalized groups, 17including Black, indigenous, and other people of color; immigrants; lesbian, gay, 18bisexual, transgender, and queer people; people with disabilities; people with low 19incomes; and people living in rural and underserved areas. Many people who are 20part of these marginalized groups already face barriers, exacerbated by social, 21political, economic, and environmental inequities, to comprehensive health care, 22including reproductive health care, that reduce their ability to make decisions 23about their health, families, and lives. SB45-SSA2-SA17,8,3
1(n) Policies governing pharmaceutical and insurance policies affect the 2accessibility of contraceptives and the settings in which contraception services are 3delivered. SB45-SSA2-SA17,8,64(o) Despite the clearly established constitutional right to contraception, access 5to contraceptives, including emergency contraceptives and long-acting reversible 6contraceptives, has been obstructed in various ways. SB45-SSA2-SA17,8,97(p) As of June 2023, at least 4 states tried to ban access to some or all 8contraceptives by restricting access to public funding for these products and 9services. SB45-SSA2-SA17,8,1210(q) Providers’ refusals to offer contraceptives and contraception-related 11information on the basis of their own personal beliefs impede patients from 12obtaining their preferred method. SB45-SSA2-SA17,8,1513(r) States have attempted to define abortion expansively so as to include 14contraceptives in state bans on abortion and have also restricted access to 15emergency contraception. SB45-SSA2-SA17,8,2016(s) In June 2022, Justice Thomas, in his concurring opinion in Dobbs v. 17Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 142 S. Ct. 2228 (2022), stated that the U.S. 18Supreme Court “should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process 19precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell” and that the court has 20“a duty to correct the error established in those precedents” by overruling them.
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