Love my country, hate what it is becoming, part I

Wisconsin imposes campus birth-control ban

MADISON — In a move that turns the University of Wisconsin into another front in the battle over reproductive rights, the state’s Legislature has passed a law that prohibits university campuses from prescribing, dispensing and advertising all forms of birth control and emergency contraceptives. The decision makes Wisconsin the first U.S. state to limit college students’ access to birth-control options.

Rep. Dan LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, who spearheaded the move, argued that dispensing birth control and emergency contraceptives leads to promiscuity, The Minnesota Daily reports. The National Organization for Women, Planned Parenthood, and other groups are actively opposing birth-control bans on college campuses.

“With this bill, rape victims will no longer be able to turn to campus health services to obtain emergency contraceptives to prevent an unwanted pregnancy, or receive post-rape counseling and education, adding even more stress to a traumatic event,” argued Kristina Shaw, vice president of Minnesota’s NOW chapter. The bill not only affects the 13,000 Minnesotans who attend college in Wisconsin, she noted, but also sets a precedent that could lead to similar bills on college campuses in other states.

Minnesota’s NOW chapter has launched a “Birth-Control NOW!” campaign, focusing on stopping the gradual rollback of reproductive rights. A recent victory for the group came when Walgreens amended its Pharmacist Refusal Clause. Under this policy, if a pharmacist refused to fill a prescription for birth control or emergency contraceptives on the basis of his or her moral beliefs, the customer was sent to another store to get the prescription filled. The new policy says that Walgreens must deliver the prescription from the other store to the customer’s local outlet, or the customer’s house, in a timely manner.