WI Republican Legislators Introduce Pro-Life Bill Package to Support Parents and Protect the Preborn

Tgsjmiller   -   June 29, 2023

June 29, 2023

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WI Republican Legislators Introduce Pro-Life Bill Package to Support Parents and Protect the Preborn

This past Saturday, June 24, marked the one-year anniversary of the Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, sending the issue of abortion back to the states. In recognition of this one-year anniversary and in support of both babies and parents, Wisconsin Senator Romaine Quinn, along with Assembly Representatives Gae Magnafici, Pat Snyder, Amanda Nedweski, and Donna Rozar, introduced a bill package entitled “Embrace them Both.” The package consists of four bills that seek to not only save the lives of children, but also to support mothers and fathers.

The first bill, Senate Bill 343, clarifies the definition of abortion in state statute. According to the bill, medical care to prevent the death of a pregnant woman does not constitute an abortion. Abortion is the intentional killing of an unborn child. Miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, and other unfortunate situations differ from abortion because they do not intentionally kill an unborn baby.

The second bill, Senate Bill 344, increases the dollar amount taxpayers can claim as an exemption for every dependent, including children ages 0 to 17, from $700 to $1000. In recognition of the humanity of the pre-born, the bill extends that coverage to unborn children for whom a fetal heartbeat has been detected. This bill supports expecting mothers and fathers by giving them a tax break which will help with the expenses related to the birth of their baby.

The third bill, Senate Bill 345, funds Wisconsin Pregnancy Care Centers with a $1 million annual grant to Choose Life Wisconsin, Inc. These funds are in turn distributed as grants to the centers, which offer women in crisis pregnancies real help and hope both before and after the birth of their child.

Lastly, Senate Bill 346, creates an Adoption Financial Assistance Grant Program designed to make adoption available to more Wisconsin families. The program would provide $5 million biennially to a Wisconsin adoption agency that gives financial help to families looking to adopt. The cost of adoption, even domestic adoptions, has risen substantially over the years and has become prohibitive for many couples that want to adopt.

These bills demonstrate what the pro-life movement is ultimately really all about— creating a true culture of life. The best way we can celebrate the one-year anniversary of the overturning of Roe is to actively, purposefully support life, and these bills are an opportunity for Wisconsin to do just that.

Democrat Members of Congress Reintroduce Equality Act 

Wisconsin U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D) has joined other Democrat Senators and members of the US House of Representaives to reintroduce the Equality Act, which amends current civil rights laws to prohibit so-called discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

The bill contains several alarming sections. One of these prohibits adoption agencies and foster care providers from refusing to place children with same-sex couples and LGBTQ individuals. At a minimum, the bill threatens religious freedom, the safety of women and girls, and the well-being of children in adoption agencies and foster care.

This bill is so broad and sweeping that it will affect nearly everyone in some way at some point. This isn’t about equality; it actually creates significant inequality and is yet another attempt to force all Americans to accept as normal what is not normal. It’s about advancing a radical agenda, dismantling gender norms, and attacking the nuclear family.

“The fight for LGBTQ+ rights has been long, but we have made unmistakable progress in the fight towards true equality,” said Baldwin. “Just a decade ago, passing marriage equality and the Respect for Marriage Act with a dozen Republican senators on our side would have been unthinkable.”

Unfortunately, Baldwin is right. More Republicans are giving into progressive ideology when it comes to issues regarding marriage and the family. However, we are still hopeful that the bill will be defeated in the Republican-controlled House. Contact your senators and your member of Congress!

Contact Senator Baldwin at (202) 224-5653.  Contact Senator Ron Johnson (R) at (202) 224-5323.  Find your representative in the US House and his/her contact information HERE. Just put your zip code in the appropriate place at the top right on the landing page.

Free Resource for Summer Family Reading

Our friends at Gateways to Better Education have a wonderful free resource available for families to use this summer. Their family devotional, Faith of Our Fathers: Family Devotions from the Words of America’s Founding Fathers, is available as a download HERE.

Here’s an example of what you’ll find:

“John Jay served as the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. While traveling in Europe, he wrote a letter to his little boy, Peter, after learning that he was beginning to read. Jay advised him on what he should spend his time reading. He wrote:

‘The Bible is the best of all books, for it is the word of God, and teaches us the way to be happy in this world and in the next. Continue therefore to read it, and to regulate your life by its precepts.’”

We encourage you to use this resource to help your family to get to know our founders better and to develop an appreciation for our country’s rich Christian heritage.

“Lunch with a Purpose” webinar recording available

Yesterday, Wisconsin Family Council hosted another “Lunch with a Purpose” webinar. This one featured authors Daniel Weiss and Josh Glaser, who collaborated in writing Treading Boldly Through a Pornographic World: A Field Guide for Parents. During the webinar, Daniel and Josh made the case for why parents must “tread boldly” on the issue of pornography with their children— because they love their children and want to protect them and prepare them. The webinar was informational and inspirational— and incredibly timely as we deal with pornography being so readily and easily available. As Daniel and Josh pointed out, pornography finds our kids; they don’t have to look for it! A video recording of the webinar is available HERE.

LEAD WI
July 16th-21st, 2023
Maranatha Baptist University – Watertown, WI
Register here
(We do still have room for a couple of teens in our Assembly track, as well as in our Senate track for LEAD WI alumni.)

New community event series: Religious Freedom Matters!
Read more about the Religious Freedom Matters! community event series by clicking HERE. Events around Wisconsin are coming soon!

Attention Home School Families! Online physics course available this fall.

Mrs. Adele Weeks, a longtime friend of WFA and WFC, homeschooled her two sons between 1994 and 2005, and then began to teach chemistry and physics online to homeschoolers for the next 15 years. She will be offering an online physics course this fall, using Dr. Jay Wile’s brand new physics book, Discovering Design with Physics. If any of your homeschoolers need to take physics, please give Mrs. Weeks’s course website a look. She spends 2 weeks (four classes) on each chapter; the first two are new material, and the second two are review. She loves her subject and uses humor in her presentations. Her students usually end up liking physics.

The course website is: www.discoveringdesignwithphysics.wordpress.com/31-2

Please feel free to email Mrs. Weeks with any questions about the course at: mrsweeksphysics@gmail.com or call her at: 262-672-0797.

IN THE MEDIA
WEEKLY RADIO COMMENTARY. “WISCONSIN FAMILY CONNECTION”
Airing this week on over 20 stations statewide. This week: “Celebrating a Year of No Roe!”

  • Click HERE to listen to this week’s Wisconsin Family Connection or read the complete radio commentary.
  • Subscribe to our podcasts HERE!

“WISCONSIN FAMILY MINUTE”
A daily program for Christian radio stations!

  • Listen on our website HERE
  • Click HERE to subscribe to your Wisconsin Family Minute podcasts and never miss an episode!
  • Find your local station to listen live HERE. If the Christian radio station you listen to isn’t carrying “Wisconsin Family Minute,” please encourage them to do so. Contact us at 866-849-2536 or info@wifamilycouncil.org. 

STAND UP FOR THE TRUTH – Q90FM
WFC President Julaine Appling was a guest on Thursday, May 18, on q90fm’s “Stand Up for the Truth” podcast, hosted by our friend David Fiorazo. You can listen to the podcast HERE. David, Mary (new co-host), and Julaine had a robust discussion on the issues of the day from a Christian perspective.

HOME FRONT/InFOCUS – VCY AMERICA
WFC President Julaine Appling hosts VCY America’s “Home Front” program every Wednesday afternoon (Sept.-May) at 3:15 p.m. On each program Julaine talks about important events happening in Wisconsin.
Click HERE to listen to archived Home Front programs. The program will resume on Wednesday, September 13, 2023.

Julaine is also a monthly guest on VCY’s TV 30 live call-in program, “InFocus,” hosted by VCY America’s General Manager Jim Schneider. The program is on each Monday evening at 7 p.m., September through May. Julaine most recently joined Jim on Monday, May 15, 2023, the last “InFocus” program for the season. Watch online HERE. “InFocus” will begin a new season on Monday, September 11, 2023, when Julaine will again be Jim’s guest. Archived “InFocus” programs are available HERE.