MADISON – Today, Assembly Representative Jacobson (D-Oregon) voted to allow pharmacists to prescribe birth control with the passing of Assembly Bill 176.
“As a co-sponsor, I am thrilled to help expand access to contraception for Wisconsinites. It is a positive step in supporting Wisconsin women and giving them full control over their bodies. Increased access to contraception will make it easier for Wisconsin women to plan if and when they have a family.
“We cannot understate the importance of a women’s right to choose whether or not to have children when our state has refused to fund programs like Child Care Counts and Healthy School Meals for all. I challenge you to think about how many parents will leave the workforce if we do not provide further support for Wisconsin families to address our current and future struggles. Whereas I am grateful for the bipartisan passing of Assembly Bill 176 today, we still have many more areas to address before the needs of women and families in this country are realized.
“Increasing access to contraceptives is a step towards giving women back full control over our bodies. But if we truly want to support women in Wisconsin, we must also work to address the health and economic disparities experienced by people of color, support child care, increase access to food, and repeal the 1849 abortion ban, in addition to providing greater access to contraceptives.”
