From WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com …
— Dem lawmakers argued Republicans are out of step with most Americans on abortion as they began circulating legislation to codify abortion rights in state law and eliminate other barriers to the procedure.
Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, at a Capitol press conference yesterday said most Americans do not want abortion access to be restricted.
“People do not want a national abortion ban, they do not want medically unnecessary restrictions that harm people, and they are horrified to see the skyrocketing maternal mortality rates in states that have banned and restricted access to abortion,” Roys said. “Because the truth is, when you put political interference in between patients and their doctors, women die.”
Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, knocked the proposal as a publicity stunt.
“Whether I like it or not, abortion is legal in Wisconsin up to 20 weeks. This is a PR stunt by the Democrats to promote fear and division in Wisconsin,” Vos said in a statement to WisPolitics.
Roys and Rep. Lisa Subeck, D-Madison, announced the legislation alongside Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin President Tanya Atkinson and health care workers.
The proposal would repeal an 1849 law that had been interpreted as a ban on abortion.
The law went into effect when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned abortion rights nationally in 2022, halting abortions in the state. Abortion providers have since resumed care after a Dane County judge in 2023 ruled the law bars feticide, not abortion. The case is now pending before the liberal-controlled state Supreme Court.
The bill would also eliminate requirements for women who seek abortions that opponents argued are designed to delay the procedures. That includes provisions in state law requiring an ultrasound to be performed at least 24 hours before an abortion, and requiring doctors who administer abortion-inducing drugs to perform a physical exam on the woman and be present in the room when the drug is taken.
See more at WisPolitics.
— Wisconsin physicians today criticized GOP U.S. Reps. Bryan Steil and Derrick Van Orden for potential cuts to Medicaid during a call hosted by the Committee to Protect Health Care.
House Republicans this month approved a budget resolution to cut at least $1.5 trillion in federal funding. The measure directed the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over Medicaid, to cut $880 billion.
Dr. Sandy Frohling, an internal medicine physician in Chippewa County, said there’s “absolutely no way” those cuts can happen without taking health care away from those who need it most, such as seniors, pregnant women, children and people with disabilities.
“And some people claim that they can make these cuts just by weeding out fraud and abuse in the system or by implementing work requirements, but the numbers simply don’t add up,” Frohling said. “And doctors know — and that’s why we’re here today — that these cuts, cuts of this size, will have our patients paying the price and our communities are going to pay the price.”
Dr. Abby La Nou, an Eau Claire emergency medicine physician, said Medicaid cuts would exacerbate problems caused due to hospital closures in western Wisconsin. She said hospitals are stretched thin as it is.
“I’m just concerned because in my 12 years here, I have seen us have less and less access to care in the rural areas instead of expanding it,” La Nou said. “And I fear that’s only going to get worse. If these hospitals aren’t funded, there are going to be more closures.”
State GOP Rapid Response Director Anika Rickard in a written statement knocked the comments as “fear-mongering.”
“Republicans have said time and time again that Medicaid will not be cut for vulnerable citizens. Democrats’ use of fear-mongering for political gain won’t fool Wisconsinites,” Rickard said.
Van Orden has said benefits “will not be cut by a nickel” for American citizens lawfully receiving benefits from the federal government.
— UW-Milwaukee researcher Qingsu Cheng is getting $200,000 to study why breast cancer cells “revive” after remission, the university announced.
Cheng, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering in UWM’s College of Engineering & Applied Science, aims to understand how some breast cancer cells “go dormant to hide from radiation” treatment before once again becoming active later. By entering a “sleeping” state and not growing or dividing, these cells can go undetected during treatment.
“We know some parts of the story, but not all of it,” Cheng said in a statement. “If we can stop cancer cells from going dormant in the first place, we might reduce the chance of the cancer coming back after successful treatment.”
The research project will focus on how these “hidden” cells are revived, the possible role of the circulatory system in this process, and the potential influence of low-dose radiation exposure over time, such as from medical scanning.
Ultimately, improving this understanding could lead to new treatment targets for breast cancer, according to Cheng, who plans to test therapies to prevent cancer cells from going under the radar.
The funding comes from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Shaw Scientist Award, established by the late James D. and Dorothy Shaw to support early-career scientists.
See the release below.
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