This post originally appeared at https://www.prolifewi.org/blog/2025/5/19/wisconsin-state-assembly-passes-bill-allowing-pharmacists-to-prescribe-contraceptives

On an 87-10 bipartisan vote, the Wisconsin Assembly passed Assembly Bill (AB) 43 last Tuesday, legislation introduced in a misguided attempt to reduce unplanned pregnancies. The bill, authored by State Representative Joel Kitchens (R-Sturgeon Bay) and State Senator Rachael Cabral-Guevara (R-Appleton), permits pharmacists to prescribe hormonal contraceptive patches (the Patch) and self-administered oral hormonal contraceptives (the Pill) to persons 18 years of age and older. Currently, all brands of the Pill (except Opill, the first FDA-approved over-the-counter daily birth control pill available in the United States) and all brands of the Patch may only be prescribed by a physician or a qualified nurse practitioner. Assembly Bill 43 now moves to the Wisconsin Senate.

Pro-Life Wisconsin commends the 10 Republican state representatives who courageously voted NO on AB 43: Scott Allen (R-Waukesha); Elijah Behnke (R-Town of Chase); Lindee Brill (R-Sheboygan Falls); Joy Goeben (R-Hobart); Rick Gundrum (R-Slinger); Nate Gustafson (R-Fox Crossing);  Dave Maxey (R-New Berlin); Kevin Petersen (R-Waupaca); Shae Sortwell (R-Two Rivers); and Chuck Wichgers (R-Muskego). If one of these pro-life heroes is your state representative, please call him or her and express your thanks. We especially thank Representatives Brill and Wichgers for leading the fight against AB 43.

Pro-Life Wisconsin (PLW) OPPOSES any legislation that makes hormonal contraceptives more easily accessible or widely available. On April 23, 2025, PLW Legislative Director Matt Sande testified before the Assembly Committee on Health, Aging and Long-Term Care in opposition to AB 43. Three other statewide pro-life organizations also oppose AB 43: Wisconsin Family Action, the Wisconsin Catholic Conference, and the Wisconsin Catholic Medical Guilds.

Assembly Bill 43 is bad legislation for multiple reasons:

It ends the patient-physician relationship. According to the Wisconsin Catholic Medical Guilds, “Primary care physicians have a unique relationship with their patients in which they can provide individualized counseling and recommendations, as well as discuss risks of prescription medications unique to each individual patient. This relationship and individualized care will be eliminated if this bill moves forward.”  AB 43 is bad medicine.

• After the extended Covid-19 healthcare disruption, denying thousands of patients access to routine checkups, it is now more important than ever to encourage women to reengage with their primary care and OB/GYN physicians. AB 43 encourages the opposite.

• Attempting to lower unplanned pregnancies by making contraceptives more easily accessible simply does not work. A significant percentage of unintended pregnancies are in women using contraceptives, generally over 40% and in some studies up to 68%.

• Hormonal contraceptives can cause pre-implantation chemical abortions by altering the lining of the uterus (endometrium) so that a newly conceived child (human embryo) is unable to implant in the womb, thus starving and dying.

• Hormonal contraceptives have been proven dangerous to women’s health. The Pill is a known Group 1 carcinogen for breast, cervical, and liver cancers according to the UN’s International Agency on Research of Cancer. It is not the proper role of pharmacists to diagnose health conditions and prescribe powerful medications with clear health risks.

Pro-Life Wisconsin will continue to lead the fight against AB 43 and its companion bill, Senate Bill (SB) 42, in the Wisconsin Senate.