| Nearly 1/2 of all unintended pregnancies occur among women using a contraceptive method. |
Advance comprehensive women's health in Wisconsin by engaging, educating,
empowering and mobilizing individuals and organizations. |
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|  | Marriage Amendment AJR 67 & SJR 53 |
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| Proposed constitutional amendment to ban civil unions and gay marriages
How the proposal reads: To create section 13 of article XIII of the constitution; relating to: providing that only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state (2nd consideration).
What this means: According to an analysis by the non-partisan Legislative Reference Bureau "It provides that only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state and that a legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in this state." Civil unions and domestic partnerships, both heterosexual and gay or lesbian, would also be made illegal under Wisconsin's proposal.
The proposed constitutional amendment could:
-Deny hundreds of the rights of marriage that families need to protect themselves, such as the right to make emergency medical decisions for a loved one, hospital visitation, sharing health and retirement benefits, even the right to make funeral arrangements.
-Threaten the health insurance of the families of teachers and other government workers who live in communities like Milwaukee, Sun Prairie, Madison and La Crosse that have domestic partner health insurance. |
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| Wisconsin Medical Society's Policy Opposing the Ban:
(DIS 002) "The Wisconsin Medical Society opposes efforts to bar any civil unions other than hetrosexual marriage because of the negative health care affects it may have on our gay and lesbians patients and their families and dependent children, such as:
- hospital visitation priviledges;
- bereavement priviledges;
- giving permission for proceedures for minor children in those families;
- insurance coverage for dependent children in those families."
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| Three steps are required to amend the Wisconsin Constitution:
1. A majority in both houses of the state Legislature must pass the amendment.
2. In the next legislative session, the state Legislature must pass the same exact wording again.
3. The amendment must then be approved by a majority of voters in a statewide election.
In March 2004, the state Assembly approved the amendment (then titled AJR 66) on a 70-29 vote, and state Senate approved it on a 20-13 vote.
If it passes again in the Legislature, the ban on civil unions and marriage will go before voters in the November 7th, 2006 statewide election. |
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