On Tuesday, Sept. 24, members of the Wis. chapter of the National Organization for Women will spend the noon hour outside the state capitol, raising awareness about the latest anti-choice bill to emerge from the legislature.

Assembly Bill 206 is scheduled for a hearing at noon.  If passed, the bill will allow for the sale of special “Choose Life” license plates in Wisconsin. Proceeds from the sales will go to Choose Life Wisconsin, a non-profit that was recently established by anti-choice leadership from Pro-Life Wisconsin and Wisconsin Family Action. Choose Life Wisconsin will turn the proceeds over to crisis pregnancy centers throughout the state.

After registering their opposition to AB 206 at the hearing, Wisconsin NOW members will be protesting the bill and distributing information about the bill to passers-by at the corner of Carroll and Mifflin on Capitol Square.

NOW members find the bill objectionable due to the unethical nature of crisis pregnancy centers, where women are routinely provided with inaccurate or misleading medical information. In a 2012 study entitled CPCs Exposed: The Truth About Deception at Wisconsin Crisis Pregnancy Centers, NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin Foundation found that 100% of the crisis pregnancy centers they investigated in the state shared false information with the visitors they counsel.

“By selling these license plates, the state would essentially be endorsing and assisting these efforts to lie to and manipulate women,” said Wisconsin NOW president Dayna Long. “Women who find themselves in the vulnerable position of facing an unplanned pregnancy or a contraceptive failure don’t deserve to be pushed around by groups whose true purpose is serving the anti-choice agenda. Women deserve the facts about all of their options and they deserve counseling from unbiased medical professionals.”

The Wisconsin chapter of the National Organization for Women is one of the oldest feminist organizations in the state, with over a thousand members statewide. Wisconsin NOW remains an unwavering champion for women’s rights, including the right to ethical and unbiased counseling on matters of reproductive health.