County Supervisors: Require Unbiased Reproductive Health Information

May 21, 2013
Supervisor Carousel Bayrd (658-7333) Supervisor Jenni Dye (492-2454)
County Board

 

Clients of Dane County Services seeking information on reproductive health options would be ensured access to comprehensive, factual information, under a proposal before the full Dane County Board this Thursday.

 

“Dane County women deserve and expect comprehensive health information without judgment,” said Board Vice Chair Carousel Bayrd, a lead sponsor of the measure. “It is the county’s responsibility to ensure our citizens are given all the information, so they can make the best decision for themselves.”

 

The law requires human service clients with reproductive health concerns to be referred only to organizations that provide “comprehensive, non-directive reproductive health care information, including but not limited to family planning, birth control, pregnancy, and post partum.”

 

The proposal comes in response to growing evidence that a number of crisis pregnancy centers in Wisconsin and across the nation provide biased and medically disproven information to women about their reproductive health options.

 

“It is important that the county only contract with or refer to unbiased providers,” said Supervisor Jenni Dye, a sponsor of the proposal. “Individuals receiving county services should receive accurate and non-directive information about the whole range of options, so they can then make their own informed decisions about what choice is right for them."

 

The proposal is slated for a vote by the full county board this Thursday, May 23.  It passed the Health and Human Needs Committee unanimously earlier this month.

 

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