SB553 would exempt from the definition of abortion a “medical procedure or treatment designed or intended to prevent the death of a pregnant woman and not designed or intended to kill the unborn child.”
The Senate passed SB553 on November 18, 2025, by a vote of 18 to 15. We have assigned pluses to the ayes this bill would bring clarity to Wisconsin law by restricting the definition of abortion to “the intentional destruction of the life of an unborn child,” ensuring that a physician may legally perform life-saving emergency medical procedures on a pregnant woman (e.g., early induction or cesarean section) when reasonable efforts are made to “preserve both the life of the woman and the life of her unborn child.” Since the care of human life—not its destruction—is the greatest responsibility of government, Wisconsin ought to protect the right to life for preborn children and their mothers. The right to life is the most fundamental, God-given, and “unalienable” right mentioned in the Declaration of Independence and secured by the Fifth and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
