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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-SA17,1,1
1At the locations indicated, amend the substitute amendment as follows:
SB45-SSA2-SA17,1,221. At the appropriate places, insert all of the following:
SB45-SSA2-SA17,1,33Section 1. 253.078 of the statutes is created to read:
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 providers or patients 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 providers ability
8to provide contraceptives or contraception-related information or a persons 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
11patients 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 providers staff, and on behalf of the providers 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-SA17,911912Section 9119. Nonstatutory provisions; Health Services.
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 persons
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 womens
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 peoples 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 Womens Health Organization, 142 S. Ct. 2228 (2022), stated that the U.S.
18Supreme Court should reconsider all of this Courts substantive due process
19precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell and that the court has
20a duty to correct the error established in those precedents by overruling them.
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