Date of enactment: July 5, 2013
2013 Senate Bill 206
Date of publication*: July 6, 2013
2013 WISCONSIN ACT 37
AN ACT to repeal 253.10 (3) (c) 1. g.; to amend 253.10 (3) (c) (intro.), 253.10 (3) (c) 5., 253.10 (3) (d) 1., 253.10
(3m) (a) (intro.), 253.10 (5) and 253.10 (6) (b); and to create 253.095, 253.10 (3) (c) 1. gm., 253.10 (3) (em), 253.10
(3g), 253.10 (6) (am) and 253.10 (6) (dm) of the statutes; relating to: requirements to perform abortions, requiring
an ultrasound before informed consent for an abortion, and providing a penalty.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in
senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. 253.095 of the statutes is created to read:
253.095 Requirements to perform abortions. (1)
DEFINITION. In this section, “abortion” has the meaning
given in s. 253.10 (2) (a).
(2) ADMITTING PRIVILEGES REQUIRED. No physician
may perform an abortion, as defined in s. 253.10 (2) (a),
unless he or she has admitting privileges in a hospital
within 30 miles of the location where the abortion is to be
performed.
(3) PENALTY. Any person who violates this section
shall be required to forfeit not less than $1,000 nor more
than $10,000. No penalty may be assessed against the
woman upon whom the abortion is performed or induced
or attempted to be performed or induced.
(4) CIVIL REMEDIES. (a) Any of the following individ-
uals may bring a claim for damages, including damages
for personal injury and emotional and psychological dis-
tress, against a person who performs, or attempts to per-
form, an abortion in violation of this section:
1. A woman on whom an abortion is performed or
attempted.
2. The father of the aborted unborn child or the
unborn child that is attempted to be aborted.
3. Any grandparent of the aborted unborn child or the
child that is attempted to be aborted.
(b) A person who has been awarded damages under
par. (a) shall, in addition to any damages awarded under
par. (a), be entitled to not less than $1,000 nor more than
$10,000 in punitive damages for a violation that satisfies
a standard under s. 895.043 (3).
(c) A conviction under sub. (3) is not a condition pre-
cedent to bringing an action, obtaining a judgment, or
collecting the judgment under this subsection.
(d) Notwithstanding s. 814.04 (1), a person who
recovers damages under par. (a) or (b) may also recover
reasonable attorney fees incurred in connection with the
action.
(e) A contract is not a defense to an action under this
subsection.
(f) Nothing in this subsection limits the common law
rights of a person that are not in conflict with sub. (2).
(5) CONFIDENTIALITY IN COURT PROCEEDINGS. (a) In
every proceeding brought under this section, the court,
upon motion or sua sponte, shall rule whether the identity
of any woman upon whom an abortion was performed or
induced or attempted to be performed or induced shall be
kept confidential unless the woman waives confidential-
ity. If the court determines that a woman’s identity
should be kept confidential, the court shall issue orders
* Section 991.11, WISCONSIN STATUTES: Effective date of acts. “Every act and every portion of an act enacted by the legislature over the governor’s
partial veto which does not expressly prescribe the time when it takes effect shall take effect on the day after its date of publication.”
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State Statute — Wisconsin Legislature, Act 37 (2013)
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to the parties, witnesses, and counsel and shall direct the
sealing of the record and exclusion of individuals from
courtrooms or hearing rooms to the extent necessary to
safeguard the woman’s identity from public disclosure.
If the court issues an order to keep a woman’s identity
confidential, the court shall provide written findings
explaining why the woman’s identity should be kept con-
fidential, why the order is essential to that end, how the
order is narrowly tailored to its purpose, and why no rea-
sonable less restrictive alternative exists.
(b) Any person, except for a public official, who
brings an action under this section shall do so under a
pseudonym unless the person obtains the written consent
of the woman upon whom an abortion was performed or
induced, or attempted to be performed or induced, in
violation of this section.
(c) This section may not be construed to allow the
identity of a plaintiff or a witness to be concealed from the
defendant.
SECTION 2. 253.10 (3) (c) (intro.) of the statutes is
amended to read:
253.10 (3) (c) Informed consent. (intro.) Except if
a medical emergency exists and subject to sub. (3g), a
woman’s consent to an abortion is informed only if all of
the following first take place:
SECTION 3. 253.10 (3) (c) 1. g. of the statutes is
repealed.
SECTION 4. 253.10 (3) (c) 1. gm. of the statutes is
created to read:
253.10 (3) (c) 1. gm. That the pregnant woman is
required to obtain an ultrasound that meets the require-
ments under sub. (3g), if she has not already had an ultra-
sound that meets those requirements. The physician, or
other qualified physician, shall provide to the pregnant
woman a list of providers that perform an ultrasound at
no cost to the woman, as described in par. (em) 1.
SECTION 5. 253.10 (3) (c) 5. of the statutes is
amended to read:
253.10 (3) (c) 5. The woman certifies in writing on
a form that the department shall provide, prior to perfor-
mance or inducement of the abortion, that the informa-
tion that is required under subds. 1. and 2. has been pro-
vided to her in the manner specified in subd. 3., that the
ultrasound required under sub. (3g) has been performed
or that requirement is waived under sub. (3m) (a), that she
has been offered the information described in par. (d) and
that all of her questions, as specified under subd. 4., have
been answered in a satisfactory manner. The physician
who is to perform or induce the abortion or the qualified
person assisting the physician shall write on the certifica-
tion form the name of the physician who is to perform or
induce the abortion. The woman shall indicate on the cer-
tification form who provided the information to her and
when it was provided and who performed the ultrasound
and when it was performed, unless the ultrasound
requirement is waived under sub. (3m) (a). If the ultra-
sound required under sub. (3g) was performed at a facil-
ity other than the facility where the physician who is to
perform or induce the abortion is located, the woman
shall provide to the physician who is to perform or induce
the abortion the certification form described under sub.
(3g) (d).
SECTION 6. 253.10 (3) (d) 1. of the statutes is
amended to read:
253.10 (3) (d) 1. Geographically indexed materials
that are designed to inform a woman about public and pri-
vate agencies, including adoption agencies, and services
that are available to provide information on family plan-
ning, as defined in s. 253.07 (1) (a), including natural
family planning information, to provide ultrasound
imaging services, to assist her if she has received a diag-
nosis that her unborn child has a disability or if her preg-
nancy is the result of sexual assault or incest and to assist
her through pregnancy, upon childbirth and while the
child is dependent. The materials shall include a compre-
hensive list of the agencies available, a description of the
services that they offer and a description of the manner
in which they may be contacted, including telephone
numbers and addresses, or, at the option of the depart-
ment, the materials shall include a toll−free, 24−hour
telephone number that may be called to obtain an oral list-
ing of available agencies and services in the locality of
the caller and a description of the services that the agen-
cies offer and the manner in which they may be contacted.
The materials shall provide information on the availabil-
ity of governmentally funded programs that serve preg-
nant women and children. Services identified for the
woman shall include medical assistance for pregnant
women and children under s. 49.47 (4) (am) and 49.471,
the availability of family or medical leave under s.
103.10, the Wisconsin works program under ss. 49.141
to 49.161, child care services, child support laws and pro-
grams and the credit for expenses for household and
dependent care and services necessary for gainful
employment under section 21 of the Internal Revenue
Code. The materials shall state that it is unlawful to per-
form an abortion for which consent has been coerced, that
any physician who performs or induces an abortion with-
out obtaining the woman’s voluntary and informed con-
sent is liable to her for damages in a civil action and is
subject to a civil penalty, that the father of a child is liable
for assistance in the support of the child, even in instances
in which the father has offered to pay for an abortion, and
that adoptive parents may pay the costs of prenatal care,
childbirth and neonatal care. The materials shall include
information, for a woman whose pregnancy is the result
of sexual assault or incest, on legal protections available
to the woman and her child if she wishes to oppose estab-
lishment of paternity or to terminate the father’s parental
rights. The materials shall state that fetal ultrasound
imaging and auscultation of fetal heart tone services are
obtainable by pregnant women who wish to use them and
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shall describe the services. The materials shall include
information on services in the state that are available for
victims or individuals at risk of domestic abuse.
SECTION 7. 253.10 (3) (em) of the statutes is created
to read:
253.10 (3) (em) Ultrasound materials and form. 1.
The department shall compile a list of facilities, includ-
ing the names, addresses, and phone numbers, that pro-
vide ultrasounds at no cost. The department shall make
this list available to the public and shall provide the list
to every facility that performs or induces an abortion.
2. The department shall provide to every facility that
performs ultrasounds at no cost a list of the requirements
under sub. (3g).
3. Any facility that intends to perform ultrasounds on
pregnant women who are seeking to have abortions per-
formed or induced shall create a form on which a physi-
cian at that facility certifies that the requirements under
sub. (3g) are satisfied and provides a date the require-
ments under sub. (3g) are satisfied.
SECTION 8. 253.10 (3g) of the statutes is created to
read:
253.10 (3g) PERFORMANCE OF ULTRASOUND. (a)
Except as provided under sub. (3m) and except in a medi-
cal emergency and before a person may perform or
induce an abortion on a pregnant woman, the physician
who is to perform or induce the abortion, or any physician
requested by the pregnant woman, shall do all of the fol-
lowing, or shall arrange for a person who is qualified to
perform an ultrasound to do all of the following:
1. Perform an obstetric ultrasound on the pregnant
woman using whichever transducer the woman chooses
after the options have been explained to her. A facility
that offers ultrasounds at no cost to satisfy the require-
ments of this subsection shall have available transducers
to perform both transabdominal and transvaginal ultra-
sounds.
2. Provide a simultaneous oral explanation to the
pregnant woman during the ultrasound of what the ultra-
sound is depicting, including the presence and location of
the unborn child within the uterus, the number of unborn
children, and the occurrence of the death of an unborn
child, if such a death has occurred.
3. Display the ultrasound images so that the pregnant
woman may view them.
4. Provide to the pregnant woman a medical descrip-
tion of the ultrasound images, including the dimensions
of the unborn child and a description of any external fea-
tures and internal organs that are present and viewable on
the image.
5. Provide a means for the pregnant woman to visual-
ize any fetal heartbeat, if a heartbeat is detectable by the
ultrasound transducer type chosen by the woman under
subd. 1., and provide to the pregnant woman, in a manner
understandable to a layperson, a simultaneous oral
explanation.
(b) No person may require a pregnant woman to view
the ultrasound images that are required to be displayed
for and reviewed with her or to visualize any fetal heart-
beat. No person, including the pregnant woman, may be
subject to any penalty if the pregnant woman declines to
view the displayed ultrasound images or to visualize any
fetal heartbeat.
(c) The requirement under par. (a) does not apply if
the physician, in a writing that is placed in the woman’s
medical record, certifies that the pregnant woman is
undergoing a medical emergency and certifies the medi-
cal condition that constitutes the medical emergency.
(d) A physician other than a physician at the facility
where the abortion is to be performed or induced may do
or arrange for the performance of the activities necessary
to satisfy the requirements of this subsection. A physi-
cian at a location other than the facility where the abor-
tion is to be performed or induced who does or arranges
for the performance of the activities under par. (a) shall
certify on a form described under sub. (3) (em) 3. that the
requirements of this subsection are satisfied and shall
provide the date on which the requirements are satisfied.
(e) No person who has been convicted of a crime
under ss. 940.22, 940.225, 948.02, 948.025, or 948.05 to
948.14 may perform any ultrasound that is required
under this subsection.
SECTION 9. 253.10 (3m) (a) (intro.) of the statutes is
amended to read:
253.10 (3m) (a) (intro.) A woman seeking an abor-
tion may waive the 24−hour period required under sub.
(3) (c) 1. (intro.) and L. and 2. (intro.) and may waive all
of the requirements under sub. (3g) if all of the following
are first done:
SECTION 10. 253.10 (5) of the statutes is amended to
read:
253.10 (5) PENALTY. Any person who violates sub.
(3), (3g) (a), or (3m) (a) 2. or (b) 2. shall be required to
forfeit not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000. No
penalty may be assessed against the woman upon whom
the abortion is performed or induced or attempted to be
performed or induced.
SECTION 11. 253.10 (6) (am) of the statutes is created
to read:
253.10 (6) (am) Any of the following individuals
may bring a claim for damages, including damages for
personal injury and emotional and psychological dis-
tress, against a person who attempts to perform or per-
forms an abortion in violation of sub. (3g):
1. A woman on whom an abortion is performed or
attempted.
2. The father of the aborted unborn child or the
unborn child that is attempted to be aborted.
3. Any grandparent of the aborted unborn child or the
unborn child that is attempted to be aborted.
SECTION 12. 253.10 (6) (b) of the statutes is amended
to read:
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253.10 (6) (b) A person who has been awarded dam-
ages under par. (a) or (am) shall, in addition to any dam-
ages awarded under par. (a) or (am), be entitled to not less
than $1,000 nor more than $10,000 in punitive damages
for a violation that satisfies a standard under s. 895.043
(3).
SECTION 13. 253.10 (6) (dm) of the statutes is created
to read:
253.10 (6) (dm) A district attorney or the attorney
general may institute an action for injunctive relief
against any person who performs or attempts to perform
an abortion in violation of sub. (3g).
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